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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28915653">strange things happen</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/m0kke/pseuds/m0kke'>m0kke</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Persona 4, Persona Series</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Author does not think and that is everyone else’s problem, Canon characterizations? Never heard of em, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, F/M, Gen, Made-up/added Social Links, Marie doesn’t have memory loss but she’s still sarcastic and i love her, Might eff around and give her a Persona, No beta we die like my self confidence during finals week, Not ship driven, Social Links | Confidants (Persona Series), Spoilers - True Ending, Yu/Marie/Teddie family dynamics because screw you, adachi is an asshole, anwyays Marie on investigation team supremacy, eventual fluff and angst (I have no self control), namatame is relevant for the other 3/4 of the story, proofreading is for losers, ”emotions? I don’t have those anymore. Went cold turkey.”</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-20 12:48:30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>20,312</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28915653</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/m0kke/pseuds/m0kke</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Yu is the humanoid guardian of the TV World!<br/>Marie wants to know her purpose! She goes by the name Kusumi for a hot minute!<br/>And, Teddie is there!<br/>Longfic(?) portraying the events of P4G except Yu, Marie, and Teddie live in the TV World prior to like everything. </p><p>Still active, but school’s getting the better of me :/ Will try to update soon! Probably around early June &gt;_&gt;</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Marie/Narukami Yu, Marie/Persona 4 Protagonist, Marie/Seta Souji</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. introduction(s)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Okay my first long running fic! (I hope)</p><p>Nothing plot-altering happens during relationship parts so u can skip over the shippy stuff if you wanna &lt;33 (it won’t be happening for a while, anyways &gt;_&gt;)</p><p>There’s gonna be lots of Marie interaction, like including her with the main storyline and all that. The whole ‘mystery of the Shadows, fog, and TV World’ thing is gonna kind of change, because some facts are already known beforehand and are present from chapter 1 onward, so again I highly suggest you’ve finished or know the true ending before reading!</p><p>One more thing I promise-<br/>Please please please let me know right away if anything is unclear, and if you have any questions! I’ll do my very best to answer you and include it in the next chapter to clarify ^_^</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The space inside of the TV World had transformed in a matter of days, it seemed. The lush, natural beauty replaced by dull colors and harsh terrain. Yu hardly had time to take the change in before the fog set in and the Shadows began running wild.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The beautiful world inside of people’s hearts, the place he guarded against the Shadows of twisted inner desires, the place that had been his home since he’d been created, it was becoming shrouded in fog. A dense, thick, </span>
  <em>
    <span>suffocating</span>
  </em>
  <span> fog.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yu wasn’t made for fog. Yu had been around for an extended, indeterminate amount of time, and yet he had never encountered the fog. Yu did not know how to handle the fog.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>It’s probably a good thing Izanami noticed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yu.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yu turned, squinting in order to see his newest companion inside of the TV World; a young girl, (she would be about his age if they were people, it seemed,) suddenly sent by Izanami in order to assist the TV World in a more… supernatural aspect. It was relatively easy to see her, considering how much her pure white robe stood out against the yellow light of the newly-formed Backlot.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>This was Kusumi-no-Okami, remnant of Izanami tasked with absorbing the recent fog, who was making her way towards Yu from one of the many metal walkways protruding from the area.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yu was also unsure of how to interact with a former goddess.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Kusumi-no-Okami… was it?” Yu questioned.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The girl nodded, “Just Kusumi. I mean, if you’d rather keep it short. Um...”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kusumi eyed a strange, shadowy figure quite a distance behind herself before continuing, “This thing keeps following me.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hm?” Yu came closer to Kusumi, keeping on high alert as he got a better look at this ‘thing’, which, as he observed, was attempting to conceal itself behind a metal stage-support beam.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Recognizing the familiar shape, Yu sighed, “Teddie, come on out. You can’t hide that easily.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wahhh! S-Sensei!” the ‘Teddie’, rushed to Yu, the squeaking sound of his bear feet really downplaying his threatening stance, “You shouldn’t blow my cover like that!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kusumi blinked, apparently astonished, “It talks?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Teddie replied, stomping his stubby foot, (which again cued that squeaking sound,) “I am not ‘it’! I’m Teddie!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, Teddie then,” Kusumi inched toward the bear… looking thing, observing, “so you’re… what, a Shadow, or something?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The bear growled, agitated by the girl’s many questions, “Grr… I just told you! I’m not a Shadow! I’m Teddie!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not going to get much more out of him,” Yu clarified to Kusumi, “he’s not dangerous, though.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey,” Kusumi’s eyes fixated on a spot on Teddie’s back, “he’s got a zipper! Now, let’s see here…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Before Yu could stop her, Kusumi removed the detachable head of Teddie’s bear suit, resulting in half of a flailing, empty pile of plastic and fur, along with one startled Kusumi.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She stared, glancing back and forth between the Teddie head in her hands and his empty body,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yu shrugged.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kusumi stiffly placed Teddie’s head back in place.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“How rude!!!” Teddie exclaimed, trying his best to make his anger obvious to Kusumi, “I am a very delicate bear!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Really?” Kusumi questioned, “You don’t look all that delicate to me,” she peered down at the bear, placing a lightweight hand on his head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“W-why are you looking at me like that? Aaahckfgbllbgbb-”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With a very light push from Kusumi, Teddie was sent toppling over, flailing on the ground, (much like a turtle knocked onto its backside,)  yelling incoherent pleas as he made a desperate effort to get back up.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yu sighed, passing a snickering Kusumi as he helped the poor bear up off the dusty floor of the Backlot.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Aww, Yu!” Kusumi chided him in between hidden giggles, “You ruined it!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Teddie, cowering behind his Sensei, stated, “Kusumin is beary mean! Why did this Izanami lady have to send someone like her?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, I’m here to </span>
  <em>
    <span>help you</span>
  </em>
  <span>, nitwit,” Kusumi answered, her gleeful expression replaced by something much more pissed off, “you see all this fog? You want to live with this forever?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Teddie stepped out from behind Yu, raising his tiny bear paw, “Maybe I would if it kept me from seeing your ugly mug every day!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Watch what you say, bear!” Kusumi retorted, a thin, sinister smile forming on her face, “I’m still a part of </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span> you know... If you keep talking to me like that, she’ll come down and smite you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Wahhh!! Sensei! Kusumin is threatening me-e-e!” Teddie retreated behind Yu once again, bawling. Or, rather, whatever the equivalent of bawling was in that bear suit of his.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What’s with that name, ’Kusumin’..? Psh, whatever. Hey,” Kusumi ignored Teddie’s further cries and looked back up to Yu, “you haven’t said much.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Teddie instead replied, still quivering behind him, “Really? I think Sensei has been beary talkative today.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Talkative?” Kusumi questioned the bear, giving him a brief surprised glance before staring Yu down once again, “No. No, that won’t do. You’ve gotta talk more. I can’t imagine my only company in this stupid pit of despair being this… teddy bear.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ignoring an offended ‘hey!’ from Teddie, Yu nodded, </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ll try to.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kusumi perked up, unaware of the smile spread on her lips,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Okay, cool.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>— — —</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you getting used to it here?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hm?” Kusumi turned to see her companion, Yu, emerging slowly from the fog around her.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, yeah,” Kusumi continued, answering Yu’s question, “I’m doing fine. I’ve been looking around some.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kusumi focused outward, observing the tangled mess of metal walkways that led to nowhere. Or everywhere. Really, you couldn’t navigate around them. The fog would become so thick that you couldn’t see, and you’d end up right back where you started.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yu came to stand next to Kusumi, observing her as she continued talking,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I’ve seen some of those Shadow things around. They don’t attack me like they do you, though…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kusumi paused, probably noting something to herself to discuss at a later date, “Anyways, I could feel something from them. Do you get that? Like, you can hear their thoughts or something?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yu looked out to the walkways, “No. I just know they’re struggling… I may be able to discern their intent, but other than that…” he shook his head.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I see…” Kusumi glanced at him for a moment, gears turning in her head, “then, maybe that’s something else I’m here for.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You don’t know what you’re here for?” Yu looked to her, puzzled.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kusumi’s eyes locked with Yu’s, “Honestly, no, I don’t. I know I’m a remnant of Izanami, and I know that I have to absorb the fog eventually, but other than that…” she looked down.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Eventually…” Yu looked away thoughtfully, “so, even you don’t know when you’ll take on all of the fog.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kusumi shook her head, crossing her arms, “Its every bit as frustrating as it sounds. I guess… I’ll have to wait until ‘the will of man’ wishes for it, or something.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yu blinked, staring as he silently wished for Kusumi to explain.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“...what?” Kusumi returned his gaze, “Don’t tell me you don’t know...”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yu remained silent. Kusumi continued,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You’re not one for conversation, are you..? Well, whatever,” she organized her thoughts, preparing to explain the mystery of the fog to Yu,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“The Shadows… they’re the suppressed feelings of individuals, yeah? Then, think of the fog as the collective will of mankind.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Will..?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Uh, that didn’t really help, did it..?” Kusumi looked away, flustered, before continuing after a brief moment, “Just like the Shadows, the fog and its appearance represents what man desires. Which, of course, is…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“They wish for their vision to be clouded,” Yu concluded.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You catch on quick,” Kusumi smiled proudly, “you’re pretty much on the dot. They don’t want to hurt anymore. To accomplish that, they have to filter out the truth in front of them.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yu nodded, “Instead… they’d rather shield their eyes, living without fear of the truth. And…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kusumi looked at Yu expectantly.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yu shifted, stuffing his hands into his coat pockets, “What could have happened out there… to make them feel that way?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kusumi shook her head, absentmindedly observing the walkways around them, “Hey, we’re connected closely to a town, right? Inaba, I think it was called. Something could have happened there to cause such a widespread thought.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You think?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Maybe…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Both looked down thoughtfully, wondering to themselves.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Oh, Yu,” a thought popped into Kusumi’s head as she looked back up at him, “where’s that bear friend of yours? Doesn't he follow you around or something?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Teddie?” Yu answered, “Well, usually… though, recently, he told me he had to be alone to work on something.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Work? What’s he working on..?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yu shook his head, “I don’t really know, myself.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“He’s weird… well, then again,” Kusumi grinned, “I guess you’re not too normal, either.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You think?” Yu blinked, “I could say the same about you.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kusumi‘s smile intensified, “Hey, you watch your mouth!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah,” Yu sighed, recalling their meeting with Teddie earlier, “Kusumi, was that whole thing you told Teddie, about Izanami…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What, was it real?” Kusumi chuckled, “Heh, of course not. I mean, the part about me coming from her was true, but it’s not like I know her.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>She thought for a moment before continuing, “I doubt she even cares what happens to me, now that I’m, well... my own self. Just as long as I get my job done,” she sighed, her smile turning bitter.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“...” Yu looked off, unsure of how to respond.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Shoot, I’m sorry,” Kusumi looked back up, her cheeks turning slightly pink, “I didn’t mean to get all gloomy like that. Um…”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The two exchanged awkward glances as they both struggled to find something to say.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, uh,” Kusumi fumbled her words once or twice, “you should probably get back to work… what with the Shadows increasing and all.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Yu nodded, turning back around in order to return to the Backlot.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Soon enough, he stopped in his tracks, looking back toward Kusumi,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Do you want to come with?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Kusumi shook her head, “I think… I’m gonna keep walking around a bit,” she smiled a bit, “I think I’m getting used to navigating through these walkways.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Silently, Yu turned back and continued on his way. Kusumi turned opposite him, muttering something before she began her wandering,</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“...’s been nice, talking like that and all.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. murder! in the tv world</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Aliven’t woman found inside of TV World. Conversation ensues between our three TV World residents!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yknow I could’ve posted this in the last chapter but it just didn’t feel right :/</p><p>Next chapters should be much longer!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>That day was different than before. The fog was lifting, ever so slowly.</p><p> </p><p>Yu sighed, his dreary gaze refusing to depart from the woman in front of him.</p><p> </p><p>The unmoving woman, sprawled on the floor, breathless. Lifeless.</p><p> </p><p>There was a human woman, <em> dead </em> , in the TV World. The world Yu was meant to protect. No matter if the Shadow disappeared or not, a living, walking, talking <em> person </em>had just had her life stolen under Yu’s watch.</p><p> </p><p>He was made, specifically, to protect the world inside of the TV from Shadows. Izanami had informed him of such. So why...</p><p> </p><p>Yu remorsefully shut his eyes against the sight in front of him. Why was this too much for him?</p><p> </p><p>Yu could hear Kusumi consulting Teddie in the hallway outside of that room, “I don’t hear anything… is it over?”</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi wrung her hands, causing the thick fabric of her sleeves to twist and fold in an odd manner, “Is she..?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded.</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi stepped closer, briefly observing the scene for herself, “...I’m sorry.”</p><p> </p><p>A familiar, frightened bear peeked around the empty door frame, “S-Sensei? Kusumin?”</p><p> </p><p>“The Shadow’s gone, Teddie,” Yu looked to the bear, his expression neutral as always.</p><p> </p><p>The thinning fog made more apparent the beams of red light inside of the strangely organized room that Yu and Kusumi now stood in, highlighting their eyes with a sinister glow. It made the three of them all kinds of uneasy.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, that’s great! You did it, Sensei!”</p><p> </p><p>“...” Yu and Kusumi exchanged a quick glance. Yu stood, signaling Teddie to look at the… scene… next to them.</p><p> </p><p>“O-oh, I’m… I’m beary sorry, Sensei…” Teddie stepped back, “I should have noticed this place sooner, I just got so, so scared that I wasn’t thinking...”</p><p> </p><p>Yu wordlessly placed a hand on Teddie’s head.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Yu! Look here…”</p><p> </p><p>Yu and Teddie both looked to Kusumi, who was crouched over the body, holding a card in her hand.</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi explained, “It says… I-D. What does that mean?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu sat next to Kusumi, staring blankly at the ‘I-D’ card. After a moment of intense thought, he shook his head.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh. Well, anyways,” Kusumi studied the card, “it says on here… ‘Mayumi Yamano’. That’s gotta be her name, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“Mayumi…” Teddie sniffled, staring at the woman’s picture on the ‘I-D’ card, “what a lovely name. For it to end like this..!”</p><p> </p><p>Yu mumbled, “Teddie…”</p><p> </p><p>“This sucks,” Kusumi sighed deeply, folding her arms tight, “I mean, we’re supposed to be able to protect these people! That’s <em> why </em>Izanami put us here, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“Teddie,” Yu disregarded Kusumi’s words, “you said that this Yamano was thrown in, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Teddie nodded hurriedly, his ears bobbing as he did so, “Well, she didn’t come here on her own, that’s for sure!”</p><p> </p><p>“Then…” Yu stood back up, taking one more inspectional look around the small room and noting nothing of interest, “we should… best prepare for next time. In case the culprit throws someone else in.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay…” Marie agreed, though rather gloomily, “let’s just get out of this place. It’s starting to creep me out.”</p><p> </p><p>“W-w-w-waiiiiiit!!” Teddie rushed to Yu and Kusumi’s side, his eyes twisting into some form of what Yu could only assume was shock, “What are you gonna do about Ms. Yamano? Huh?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu blinked, looking back to the body. Kusumi refused to do the same, crossing her arms and seemingly wishing to fold in on herself already.</p><p> </p><p>“Um, I could…” Teddie went around to get a better look at Yamano, “I <em> could </em> make an exit here… and put her back into the real world...”</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi turned to look at Teddie, keeping her eyes off the floor at all costs, “What, you can just <em> make </em> an exit now?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, yeah!” Teddie replied, rather defensively.</p><p> </p><p>“How?!”</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” Teddie stepped back, his expression twisting as if it were possible for him to think deeply, “I learned how to, so we could get Ms. Yamano out safely when her Shadow… um- here!”</p><p> </p><p>Teddie cut himself short, stomping twice on the ground to quickly summon a… stack of televisions.</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi stared at the blank, glowing screens, “What… is this?”</p><p> </p><p>“The exit! I told you!! Now, help me get Ms. Yamano out of here, please.”</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi froze, sighing in relief as Yu stepped forward to assist Teddie instead.</p><p> </p><p>“Great,” Kasumi spat out as the boys pushed the human woman through a TV on the bottom of the stack, “she’s out. Can we leave now?”</p><p> </p><p>Teddie and Yu nodded in unison.</p><p> </p><p>The path back to the Backlot was supposed to be short and sweet, though the unshakable, unsettling feeling from Mayumi Yamano’s room still lingered. </p><p> </p><p>Yu decided to break the silence, hoping to drown out the sound of their echoing footsteps on the metal walkways,</p><p>“Kusumi, were you the one who’s been lifting the fog recently..? It’s thinner today.”</p><p> </p><p>“What? Oh, no,” Kusumi glanced at Yu for just a moment before returning her gaze to the floor in front of her, “at least, if I did, I haven’t noticed.”</p><p> </p><p>Teddie spoke up, confused, “Kusumin, you don’t know if you’re taking in the fog or not?”</p><p> </p><p>“No. I don’t know how, and I don’t know when I’m supposed to,” Kusumi spat out, “I’m just going to absorb it all one day. Okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh… sorry, Kusumin.”</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi sighed, “No, I shouldn’t get upset at you,” she looked back at the bear sweetly, “I’m sorry, Teddie.”</p><p> </p><p>Teddie jumped, stopping dead in his tracks as he stuttered through his response, “Wh-wh-w-w-w-WHAAAAAT? What was that?!”</p><p> </p><p>“Huh..? Shut- shut up!” Kusumi’s face ran a deep red as she curled her hands into fists at her side.</p><p> </p><p>“Sensei! Sensei!” Teddie bounded up to Yu excitedly, “Did you hear that too? Did you hear <em> the </em> Kusumin <em> apologizing </em> to <em> me?!” </em></p><p> </p><p>Without bothering to look back up at Kusumi, Yu nodded, “I sure did.”</p><p> </p><p>“No! No, you didn’t, because I take it back! I…” Kusumi thought hard for a moment, “I resign my apology!”</p><p> </p><p>Yu stared at her, “...Resign?”</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi nodded, suddenly unsure of herself.</p><p> </p><p>“Kusumin,” Teddie pointed out, matter-of-factly, “I think the word you’re looking for is… rescind.”</p><p> </p><p>“What?” Kusumi’s eyes grew wide as she realized she had just been corrected by <em> Teddie, </em> “Fine, whatever! Just- go away! <em> Both of you! </em>Stupidfactcheckingjerksihateyouboth!”</p><p> </p><p>“Heh,” Yu chuckled, looking down at the bear, “you heard her.”</p><p> </p><p>Teddie gave a concise nod, staring back up at Kusumi with his big, vacant bear eyes, “Well then, Kusumin… I do believe I’m going to rescind myself from this conversation.”</p><p> </p><p>“Shut up!” Kusumi yelled back, watching the pair grow farther and farther away.</p><p> </p><p>She decided… she’d take a different route back to the Backlot.</p><p> </p><p>— — —</p><p> </p><p>Yu stopped. In that instant, it was as if time froze over for him. Or, maybe it did. Any concern, however, was overshadowed by a warm, almost fuzzy burst of energy in his chest.</p><p> </p><p><em> Thou art I, </em> he heard, <em> and I am thou. </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Thou hast established a new bond… </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> It brings thee closer to the truth. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Thou shalt be blessed when wielding Personas of the Fool Arcana… </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“Sensei?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu snapped back to the foggy world in front of him, noting Izanagi’s presence making itself overwhelmingly apparent for a brief moment before returning to its usual stoic state.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s wrong, Sensei?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu pat Teddie’s head, “It’s nothing. Come on, we have to get to the Backlot before Kusumi.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why do we have to do that?”</p><p> </p><p>“For fun,” Yu smirked.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. hey look they get glasses in this one</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Someone else has fallen into the TV World! Two high-schoolers discuss a Midnight rumor! Oh, the drama!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Sensei! It’s been a while! What’re you here for? You don’t usually come to the Backlot alone anymore.”</p><p> </p><p>Teddie ran up to greet his favorite Sensei, who, in turn, placed a hand gently on top of Teddie’s head.</p><p> </p><p>“Teddie,” Yu spoke, bringing his hand back into his pocket, “is Kusumi here?”</p><p> </p><p>Teddie shook his head, “Nope. She’s been spending her time in the walkways. I don’t think I’ve seen her in quite some time now…”</p><p> </p><p>Yu frowned. Teddie continued, “Is something wrong, Sensei?”</p><p> </p><p>“Something’s off,” Yu responded, almost to himself rather than Teddie. He departed from Teddie’s side, taking a quick look at each of the metal paths attached to the Backlot.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s off? The lights? They seem plenty on to me, Sensei.” Teddie looked at Yu, awaiting his answer for a minute or two.</p><p> </p><p>Yu, having completed his inspections, looked back at Teddie, “Do you remember what happened a few days ago? With Mayumi Yamano?”</p><p> </p><p>The bear answered solemnly, “Yes…”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s… like that time,” Yu spoke quietly, uncertainty making its way into his tone, “the air is different, or something. Maybe this world’s layout changed. Whatever it is,” Yu began glancing around suspiciously, “<em> something’s definitely wrong </em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“Se-Sensei..?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu sighed, looking back to Teddie, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”</p><p> </p><p>Teddie nodded, his expression lightening,  “I understand, Sensei. We gotta find Kusumin, right?”</p><p> </p><p>A familiar voice spoke up from behind the pair, coupled with the noise of a few rapid footsteps, “Find who now?”</p><p> </p><p>“Kusumi(n)!” Yu and Teddie exclaimed in unison.</p><p> </p><p>“Geez, I thought-” Kasumi stopped, panting, “I thought I’d never make it- back here..!”</p><p> </p><p>“Kusumin, you’re out of breath! What happened?”</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi took a deep breath, standing back upright, “There's a new pathway. Or, rather, a whole new area… just like what happened when that Yamano woman came in.”</p><p> </p><p>“So,” Yu stepped forward, “someone else really was thrown in?”</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi hurriedly nodded, “Yes. I think so, at least.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then there’s no time to waste!” Teddie hyped himself up, readying his nose, “Let’s get going! Kusumin, I’ll help you sniff out whoever else is in here.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks, Ted. Okay,” Kusumi clapped her hands together, “let’s get going.”</p><p> </p><p>With a silent agreement between the three, the team set off in search of their newest ‘visitor’ in the TV World.</p><p> </p><p>“...Waiiiit!”</p><p> </p><p>Yu and Kusumi both turned to Teddie in response to the bear’s sudden outburst.</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi glared at Teddie, waiting for an answer, “Well? What is it?”</p><p> </p><p>“I forgot until just now… hehe,” Teddie held up his paw, two strange-looking items appearing seemingly out of nowhere, one black and one silver.</p><p> </p><p>“What are these?” Yu questioned him, taking the silver item in his hand. Kasumi did the same with the remaining pair.</p><p> </p><p>“They’re glasses! They’ll help you see through the fog!”</p><p> </p><p>“Really..?” Kusumi looked down at the black pair she held, slightly tapered at the ends.</p><p> </p><p>Upon sliding them on, Kusumi began looking around wildly, “Woah… nice job, Teddie!”</p><p> </p><p>Yu slipped his on as well, noting the unique shape due to a slight upward angle on the bottom rim.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re right…” Yu took a look around as well, “how did you find the time to make these, Teddie?”</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi added, “How did you <em>make</em> them, anyways?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve been working beary hard on them for a long time! I even have lenses for myself, see?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu and Kusumi both observed Teddie’s eyes closely as he opened them wide.</p><p> </p><p>“I guess they do look a little shinier,” Kusumi said, shrugging.</p><p> </p><p>“Mmhm! Well then,” Teddie’s smile became determined as he took a few steps forward, “shall we?”</p><p> </p><p>The couple behind the bear nodded, taking in their now-clear surroundings as they finally took off on their search.</p><p> </p><p>— — —</p><p> </p><p>“Is it just me…” a boy with dyed hair turned to the girl sitting in front of him, “or did Yukiko-san seem way stressed out today?”</p><p> </p><p>The green-clad girl nodded, “The inn must really be running her ragged…”</p><p> </p><p>“Guess so. And, um, Chie,” the boy glanced out at the second floor hallways as some other classmate left, “did you see Saki-senpai at all today?”</p><p> </p><p>Chie shook her head, focusing her attention on packing her things, “Nope, nothing.”</p><p> </p><p>After a brief moment of silence between the two, Chie turned back around,</p><p>“Oh! Yosuke!”</p><p> </p><p>“Huh?” Yosuke looked back up at her, surprised to find her looking so intense.</p><p> </p><p>She leaned closer to his desk“Did you see… <em> it </em>, last night?”</p><p> </p><p>“The, um… Midnight Channel, right? Uh, well,” Yosuke glanced down at his desk for a split second, “what about you?”</p><p> </p><p>“I did! I saw a girl! But… what’s that supposed to mean? My soulmate’s a girl?”</p><p> </p><p>“Could you tell who it was?”</p><p> </p><p>“Mm, nope. Too fuzzy. Definitely a girl, though… like, her hair was brown, about shoulder length, and she was wearing our school uniform.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” Yosuke thought back to the previous night, “I think I saw the same one... My picture was much blurrier, though.”</p><p> </p><p>“So… what, we have the same soulmate?”</p><p> </p><p>“How should I know?” Yosuke busied himself with packing his bag. Chie stood.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s totally weird,” Chie said as she stretched her arms upward, “I wonder what’s gonna happen now.”</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke shrugged, slinging his school bag over his shoulder, “I guess we’ll find out.”</p><p><br/>
— — —</p><p>“Is this…” Kusumi observed the new area around her, “a road?”</p><p> </p><p>Where the dull metal seemed to end, a concrete path stood. Next to it were many small buildings, squished together so tightly Kusumi was sure they’d surely serve as a nice big wall.</p><p> </p><p>This would be a nice landscape if the sky wasn’t an absolutely horrid blood-red color. The moving black stripes did not help ease the unnerving effect.</p><p> </p><p>Teddie, quite loudly, sniffed the air,</p><p>“Someone’s here! Definitely! I think they’re…”</p><p> </p><p>He began wandering, nose up, while Yu and Kusumi listened to his squeaky footsteps grow faster and closer together.</p><p> </p><p>“Here!” the bear stopped in front of a two story building, illuminated slightly by two unusable vending machines next to it.</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi noted Yu observing the second floor windows as she went around to the left side, inspecting a couple of small bins filled to the brim with some kind of bottled drink…</p><p> </p><p>“Konishi Liquors…” Kusumi read from a nameplate to the left of the doors.</p><p> </p><p>“Sensei,” Teddie walked up to Yu, “there’s somebody right in there. Are we all set?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded, eyeing the large double doors in front of him, “Go ahead and set up an exit. And…”</p><p> </p><p>He turned around, addressing both Teddie and Marie with a quick glance their way, “be careful. If you can, go ahead and take whoever’s in there and lead them outside.”</p><p> </p><p>With a nod from Teddie and Kusumi both, coupled with a quick moment for Teddie to stomp and summon his mysterious TV stack, Yu turned to open the door.</p><p><br/>
“Be careful, Yu,” Kusumi mumbled.</p><p> </p><p>Light flooded from the open space inside, bathing the trio in a pale crimson upon their entrance and reflecting off of the metal tins scattered across the room, stacked floor to ceiling.</p><p> </p><p>A new voice shouted in front of them,</p><p>“Shut up!”</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi looked up to see… a young girl, with brown hair and some kind of… high school uniform?</p><p> </p><p>“You’re not me. You’ll <em> never </em>be me!” the mysterious girl yelled.</p><p> </p><p>“Whaaa?” Teddie exclaimed, noticing the two girls, “There’s two of them?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu remained silent, inching forward slowly as he observed the quarrel in front of them.</p><p> </p><p>“Heh, that’s what I thought,” the second girl sneered, her yellow eyes glowing a dull orange in the light, “Oh, my…”</p><p> </p><p>The golden-eyed of the two turned to the group in the entranceway, her thin smile twisting in an exaggerated manner,</p><p>“Look, look! We have guests…”</p><p> </p><p>The other girl turned, revealing an identical face to her counterpart, minus the unnatural eyes, “Huh..?”</p><p> </p><p>“We can make them <em> all </em> disappear,” the second spoke in a distorted tone, disappearing behind a thick, dark mist, “once I’m finished with you!!”</p><p> </p><p>The still-human girl fell to her knee, looking back and forth hurriedly between her doppelgänger and the trio, “Wait, who...”</p><p> </p><p>“He-hey!” Teddie jumped forward, eyeing the being emerging from the now disappearing fog, “what do you think you’re- euugh..!?”</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi stepped up, terror spreading across her face as she took in the monstrous form,</p><p>“It’s- it’s..!”</p><p> </p><p>Teddie finished her thought, “A Shadow!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Very epic and cool thjngs coming soon!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. hanged man</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Local silver haired boy fights non-canon mega shadow, discovers the power of bonds</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Shadow Saki! Shadow Saki!</p><p>I thought it’d be better to keep it simple (that’s my way of saying I can’t come up with original designs)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There, huddling under the roof of the Konishi Liquors store, stood a blank, pure white humanoid figure. It’s arms and legs almost seemed like they’d be the height of the first floor itself, and if it were possible for this being to stand upright, it’d surely tower over any building in this neighborhood.</p><p> </p><p>“Don't look at me,” it shouted, (despite the obvious lack of facial features,) adjusting its limbs forward to be more attack-friendly.</p><p> </p><p>“Teddie, Kusumi!” Yu called, making his way hastily toward the monster, “take the girl!”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh-h-h no you don’t!”</p><p> </p><p>The monster nearly flattened the stranger in front of them, imprisoning her body between its long, oversized fingers.</p><p> </p><p>“S-S-Sensei!” Teddie yelled, his voice wavering, “it’s really strong! Like, really, <em> really </em> strong! Really, really, <em> really- </em>”</p><p> </p><p>“Teddie!” Kusumi interrupted him.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry! But, um…” Teddie thought for a moment as Yu briefly summoned Izanagi, “oh yeah, Sensei! Keep hitting it with all kinds of attacks! It’s bound to have some kind of weakness somewhere!”</p><p> </p><p>“Weakness..?” Yu looked back for a moment, swiftly returning his attention to the Shadow.</p><p> </p><p>“Mhm! I’ve been seeing a lot of Shadows lately, but it seems like they tend to be weak to specific attacks.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu acknowledged Teddie’s wisdom by casting a mediocre Zio attack, which, if anything, might have singed the Shadow a little…</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Is that the best you can do? </em> ” it responded, turning its empty face towards Yu, “useless good-for-nothings like you should <em> disappear </em>!”</p><p> </p><p>“W-w-waahhhh! Sensei! Look out!”</p><p> </p><p>A long, thin arm extended, swiping from one end of the wall to the opposite, resulting in a crashing cacophony of what were once neatly stacked bottles of liquor.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re trapped! Kusumin, we’re tra-a-apped!” Teddie clung to the girl, inching away from the mess of boxes gathered in front of them.</p><p> </p><p>“Get off of me, bear!” Kusumi snapped at Teddie, looking back at the towering blockade in front of them, “But… I guess there’s no climbing over that.”</p><p> </p><p>“Izanagi!” Yu called, much to Kusumi and Teddie’s relief, “Cleave!”</p><p><br/>
“Augh..!” the Shadow cried out, “Who do you think you are?!”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh!” Teddie jumped, exclaiming after a cry from the Shadow, “Sensei, what was that you just used? It’s weak to that!”</p><p> </p><p>“Physical attacks, then…” Yu contemplated, noting the Shadow’s hurt movements,</p><p>“Can either of you come over here? I think its going to let go of the girl.”</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi answered, “We cant… I guess we could try to move some of these and make a dent in it.”</p><p> </p><p>“That could take a little while though, Kusumin…” Teddie added, ”I don’t want to end up bear-ied under a pile of filth!”</p><p> </p><p>Yu, understanding, continued to chip away at the Shadow’s stamina, careful to mind the captive girl under the Shadow’s stubborn hand.</p><p> </p><p>“Hm?” Teddie looked up at Kusumi at his side, “Is something wrong, Kusumin?”</p><p> </p><p>“That Shadow…” Kusumi crossed her arms, “it’s hurting.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well of course it’s hurting! Sensei’s in there, taking it down!”</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi shook her head, “No, it’s not that, Teddie. It’s more like…”</p><p> </p><p>She thought for a moment before continuing, “-like it’s derived from something more complex than just a repressed emotion. It’s tied to that girl, specifically.”</p><p> </p><p>“You mean,” Teddie looked up to see the top of the Shadow’s head barely peeking up from over the wall in front of them, “that Shadow is hers?”</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi nodded, “It arose from a problem that this girl was facing in her everyday life.”</p><p> </p><p>The Shadow shrieked, “Shut <em> up! </em> What a pain in the ass!”</p><p> </p><p>“Sensei!” Teddie called, “It’s about to attack again!”</p><p> </p><p>Yu focused his attention on the Shadow’s hands, waiting for the right moment…</p><p> </p><p>“There!” he called, darting forward, reaching for the girl as the Shadow’s hands rose upward together.</p><p> </p><p>“No!” Kusumi yelled over the boxes, noticing the Shadow’s hands clasping behind its head as it readied its next attack, “Yu, it’s gonna strike!”</p><p> </p><p>Grabbing hold of the girl and taking her in his arms, Yu attempted to summon Izanagi for one more Cleave attack. He was swiftly stopped short by a shockwave sent through the ground as the Shadow’s hands crashed to the floor.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, they shifted!” Teddie inched over to the right edge of the box-wall, inspecting the individual boxes closely and poking at a few, “What if we…”</p><p> </p><p>Yu was knocked off of his feet, hastily getting back to his knees as the human girl shifted next to him.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you okay?” he asked, wondering immediately afterward if she could hear him or not.</p><p> </p><p>The girl slowly brought herself up on her elbows, turning to observe the stranger next to her in a confused manner. Having taken in the question after a moment, she nodded weakly, soon distracted with something far above her,</p><p>“Hey, look out-”</p><p> </p><p>Yu had already summoned Izanagi, who, in turn, blocked the oversized fist swung by the Shadow above them.</p><p> </p><p>Yu took a moment to recover from the physical impact of the hit Izanagi took, then promptly stood in front of the girl in order to summon the Persona once more.</p><p> </p><p>“What… is that?” she asked shakily, making hasty attempts to stand up beside Yu.</p><p> </p><p>“Stay back,” Yu ordered, casting another spell in order to lower the Shadow’s defense.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s going on?!” the girl looked around wildly, her eyes finally settling back on the Shadow.</p><p> </p><p>“Yu!” Kusumi called amidst the clamor of their silver-haired companion’s decently matched fight, “Is that the girl?”</p><p> </p><p>“He-e-ey!” Teddie joined in, “Is everything okay over there?”</p><p> </p><p>The girl in question answered back dazedly, looking from Yu to the pile of boxes where the stranger’s voice came from, “What..?”</p><p> </p><p>“If they could get over that wall, they’d be able to get you out…” Yu explained, absentmindedly answering as he busied himself with weakening the Shadow, “Do you think you could climb over?”</p><p> </p><p>“Wall? I-” the girl fumbled with her words a bit, rudely interrupted by a narrowly missed swing from the blanched Shadow.</p><p> </p><p>“Sensei, don’t worry about it!” The girl turned to face the muffled shout, coming from somewhere behind a mountain of crushed liquor storage, “Kusumin and I are gonna claw our way out!”</p><p> </p><p>“...”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm? Oh no, Kusumin! What’s wrong?”</p><p> </p><p>“Shut up for a second, Teddie. I’m thinking.”</p><p> </p><p>The girl commented to Yu, “They’re weird.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded, not taking his eyes off of the sluggish Shadow as his lips curled into a thin smile,</p><p>“That they are.”</p><p> </p><p>Another clashing sound came from a strike between Izanagi’s sword and the Shadow’s rough exterior.</p><p> </p><p>“Sensei,” Teddie called, “that’s the weakest it’s been so far! You can beat it!”</p><p> </p><p>Yu spared no time in reaching upward, calling forth his only Persona once again,</p><p>“Izanagi,” he cried, a skill he’s never used before on the tip of his tongue,</p><p>“Power Slash!”</p><p> </p><p>With a burst of light from the initial summoning and a few sparks protruding from Izanagi’s striking blade, the overgrown Shadow cried out with a shriek that shook the Konishi Liquors look-alike to its very foundation.</p><p> </p><p>Then, it fell, lifeless on the ground in front of Yu and the now rescued girl. </p><p> </p><p>“Woah, hey!” Teddie nudged Kusumi, “I think we can get over now!”</p><p> </p><p>Yu took a deep breath and sighed, turning to look over the girl and check for any visible injuries. At least, that’s what he meant to do, except her expression caught him off guard…</p><p> </p><p>“You look… happy,” Yu blinked, making sure he was seeing correctly.</p><p> </p><p>She shook her head, “I dunno. Maybe I’m just tired.”</p><p> </p><p>The girl continued, “I don’t really know what’s going on, but,” she shifted a bit before finally sticking out a confident hand,</p><p>“My name’s Saki Konishi. Thank you for… saving me, I think, um…”</p><p> </p><p>Yu stepped forward, taking her hand in his own,</p><p>“Yu.”</p><p> </p><p>“Just that, huh? No family name?” Saki clasped her hands together behind her back.</p><p> </p><p>Yu shook his head.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, whatever. It’s nice to meet you, I guess,” despite her careless tone, Saki smiled sweetly, taking a good look around the room now that the monster wasn’t threatening their lives.</p><p> </p><p>A faint, slowly growing closer squeaking noise alerted the pair to Teddie’s incoming presence,</p><p>“So this is a Saki-chan, huh?”</p><p> </p><p>Saki blinked a few times, softly rubbing her eyes as she got a good look at the bear approaching her,</p><p>“What are you?”</p><p> </p><p>“What?! How rude!” Teddie growled, his face twisting into an angry expression, “I am not a ‘what’, I’m Teddie! Why do I <em> always </em> have to explain that to you people?”</p><p> </p><p>“Ugh, ignore him,” Kusumi followed her bear companion, pulling him back and putting an appropriate amount of distance between him and Konishi, “he doesn’t know what he is either.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry-” Yu added, “-these are my… friends,” he paused, glancing to make sure they didn’t mind his calling them as such, before continuing, “Teddie, and Kusumi.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” Saki smiled, though her eyes remained dull, “well, it’s nice to meet you guys, too.”</p><p> </p><p>“My my, Saki-chan,” Teddie marveled at the girl, “you’re looking beat. We should be getting you home right away!”</p><p> </p><p>Saki nodded, slowly, “I’d like that.”</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi turned to lead the way, followed by a running-up from Teddie, and then, Saki followed casually. Yu looked once more to check on the Shadow, who had yet to move still… was that right? He could have sworn Shadows disappeared after they were defeated. Maybe this one was just different.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you coming?” Konishi asked, waiting for Yu a few feet off.</p><p> </p><p>Yu looked back to her and nodded, following the same route as Kusumi and Teddie. Saki remained still until he reached her side, but…</p><p> </p><p>“Yu, Konishi-san!” Kusumi shrieked hurriedly as she turned from the doorway, “Look out!”</p><p> </p><p>Turning back, Yu caught a glimpse of the Shadow, sitting back upright just as it drew one outstretched hand back, and-</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t underestimate me...” it called out, distorted and weakened.</p><p> </p><p>“Move, Yu!”</p><p> </p><p>Having been shoved aside by one Saki Konishi, Yu’s world froze, leaving him to observe the scene in front of him in a rather abject terror.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I am thou, </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Saki had pushed him.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> And thou art I. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>The Shadow was going to attack them both.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Thou hast established a new bond… </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Saki was directly in its path now.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> It brings thee closer to the truth. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>It was <em> so close </em>to her.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Thou shalt be blessed when wielding Personas of the Hanged Man Arcana... </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Another rush of warm energy in his chest was replaced with a sharp pain and a dull ache in the back of his head as he felt himself skidding across the cold floor, causing a rough collision against the corner of the Konishi Liquors wall. A few feet off, he heard a soft shriek, followed by a crushing <em> thud </em>.</p><p> </p><p>Yu blearily opened his eyes, noting a rather large pile of rubble that <em> definitely </em> was not there a few feet away from him before and <em> was there blood smeared down the side? </em></p><p> </p><p>Any further sense was overridden by an intense, dizzying pressure in his head as he got up on an arm, reaching out for a Persona with one hand…<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>A new presence seemed to resonate, its name echoing through Yu’s mind,</p><p>“Berith..!”</p><p> </p><p>Yu could make out a surprisingly normal looking horse and an armored humanoid atop it, brandishing its lance as it cast something called,</p><p>“Mudo.”</p><p> </p><p>He sighed, watching the Shadow become enveloped in a dark, dark emptiness upon the Persona’s disappearance.</p><p> </p><p>Yu panicked for a moment, sighting a similar darkness creeping along the edges of his own vision. This was new…</p><p> </p><p>However, his eyes were growing more and more difficult to keep open, and his head ached just terribly. A little rest wouldn’t hurt, probably, since the Shadow was gone...</p><p> </p><p>Yu closed his eyes, his thoughts fixated on the pleasant presence of Berith in his heart.</p><p> </p><p><em> The Hanged Man...</em> that phrase seemed to repeat itself over and over in Yu’s head.</p><p> </p><p>— — —</p><p> </p><p>“Everyone, <em> please </em>, settle down. The school assembly is about to begin. First,” Mrs. Sofue turned, acknowledging the man next to her, “the principal has something to say.”</p><p> </p><p>“Still no sign of Yukiko…” Chie pouted, shooting a glance or two toward the boy standing silently next to her.</p><p> </p><p>“...Hey,” she continued, “what’s wrong, Yosuke?”</p><p> </p><p>“Huh? ...oh, it’s-”</p><p> </p><p>“I…” the Principal began, cutting off Yosuke’s answer, “regret to say that I have a terrible announcement to make.”</p><p> </p><p>The crowd began to settle down, finally.</p><p> </p><p>“...third year, Ms. Saki Konishi of Class 3-”</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke looked up at the onstage Principal.</p><p> </p><p>“-has passed away.”</p><p> </p><p>An eruption of whispers and shocked murmurs sounded, nearly drowning out the Principal’s follow-up about when Saki was found, his speech about minding what you say about the incident...</p><p> </p><p>All of it, stuff Yosuke didn’t care about.</p><p> </p><p>Chie made a few comments here and there… mostly repeating something shocking the Principal had said, but Yosuke didn’t pay much attention.</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke didn’t want to think about it, but he just couldn’t shake this feeling after last night’s Midnight Channel...</p><p> </p><p>After what seemed like an eternity of staring at the floor and picking at the threads on his sleeves, all students were dismissed to their regular classes.</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke turned and left without a word, flipping his headphones over his ears as he shoved his way through the crowded hallways.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. tv boy goes outside, does many things</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Yu is in Inaba, and is met by many people!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>“Wait, this chapter is all Yu?”<br/>“Always has been” *gun*</p><p>U know how p4 has like a 2 hour tutorial? That’s what this fic is like</p><p>I’ll try to speed things up from here!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“...yes, both are hung from a telephone pole… hm? Oh, the northern Shopping District.”</p><p> </p><p>Someone was talking...</p><p> </p><p>Yu slowly opened his eyes, which, in turn, were immediately greeted with fog. And… the sky?</p><p> </p><p>No, the ground was up there… Was he upside-down? His head hurt...</p><p> </p><p>Any attempts to move were hindered by the realization that he was bound, from the waist down, tightly to… whatever object he was hanging from.</p><p> </p><p>“Huh? Hey,” the same voice underneath him spoke, “you’re alive! Are you alright?”</p><p> </p><p>Looking as far towards the ground as he could, Yu a strikingly crimson pair of eyes staring back at him. Though, they ended up shadowed over just slightly by the brim of a red hat, which paired with his uniform jacket.</p><p> </p><p>No one else seemed to be around, to Yu’s relief. It must be early in the morning...</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t worry,” the figure smiled, flipping his long hair back as he brought something rectangular away from its ear, “help is on the way.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu closed his eyes back. This definitely wasn’t the TV World, despite the fog…</p><p> </p><p>Yu had a lot to think about, but he’d take care of that when he could actually put his feet on the ground.</p><p> </p><p>— — —</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi didn’t take her eyes off of the rubble-filled road in front of her as she spoke, “Is he… going to be okay out there?”</p><p> </p><p>“I- I dunno…” Teddie answered, keeping his distance behind her, “I hope so.”</p><p> </p><p>“I guess it’s better than getting attacked by Shadows here,” Kusumi observed, noting the sound of a few faint snarls in the distance.</p><p> </p><p>Teddie shivered, nodding in agreement, “It’s better than risking leaving him here… he could’ve been attacked, and we wouldn’t be able to do anything!”</p><p> </p><p>“...” Kusumi stopped.</p><p> </p><p>Teddie bumped into her from behind, stifling his complaint when he came around to see her face,</p><p>“What’s wrong, Kusumin?”</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi crossed her arms, “Another human died.”</p><p> </p><p>Teddie wordlessly looked back down.</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi continued, “I wish we could have done something then…”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m upset too, but… what’s done is done, Kusumin. Come on-” Teddie put on his best smile, taking Kusumi’s hand to lead her back through the walkways, “-we can get upset later. We gotta get to the Backlot, so we can find Sensei when he comes back!”</p><p> </p><p>“I guess... you might be right every once in a while, Teddie,” Kusumi replied with a short sigh, “but, I think I can find our way back easier than you. You better leave the navigation to me, okay?”</p><p> </p><p>Teddie scowled, “Is that a challenge I hear, Kusumin?”</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi grinned, a sinister glint in her eye,</p><p>“Fine. Sure it is, Teddie.”</p><p> </p><p>— — —</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Do you wish to find the truth?” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Yu hurriedly opened his eyes, wondering when he fell back asleep, and-</p><p> </p><p>...where was he?</p><p> </p><p>The area was terribly foggy. Even if he’d had Teddie’s glasses, he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to see that far in front of him.</p><p> </p><p>Did he come back to the TV World?</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “If it is the truth you seek, come and find me…” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>He stood, deciding the only way to go was forward.</p><p> </p><p>Yu’s footsteps echoed faintly throughout the empty space, tapping repeatedly on the cubic, red floor.</p><p> </p><p>He heard a few more indecipherable calls from the alluring voice in front of him. How long had he been walking?</p><p> </p><p>Yu came to a stop, taking in the square… shape… towering in front of him. An immense presence radiated from whatever was behind it…</p><p> </p><p>He delicately pressed a hand against the blockage, taking it back immediately as the square door began to move in layers; innermost first, followed by the middle ring, and so on until all that remained was a glowing red frame. Fog poured in from inside…</p><p> </p><p>No sooner than a step or two past the doorframe, Yu discovered a double-handed sword had made its way into his grasp. </p><p> </p><p><em> “So…” </em> a vague figure in the fog spoke, <em> “ </em> <b> <em>you</em> </b> <em> are the one pursuing me…” </em></p><p> </p><p>Yu was struck with a deep, unsettling feeling, settling deep in the pit of his stomach. He gripped tight on the sword in his hands…</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Hm-hm-hm… try all you like, Yu.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Yu darted forward, almost instinctively after hearing his name spoken by something like <em> that </em>. He managed to hit… something, at least, with one swing, but the figure obviously wasn’t even phased.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “I see… guess I let you get too used to the fog. It seems you can still see a little…” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Yu reached out with one unsure hand, wordlessly calling forth Izanagi.</p><p> </p><p>The Persona appeared silently, hesitantly- as if taking a moment to contemplate before casting a Zio attack.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Interesting…” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>The figure called forth a new wave of fog, and began to fade…</p><p> </p><p>Yu ran up, swinging his sword haphazardly in a desperate attempt for <em> something </em>to connect. He gripped on tight, as the weapon suddenly seemed very heavy...</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Hm… you will not catch me so easily.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Yu stopped.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “If what you desire is ‘truth’, then your search will be ever harder…” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>He allowed the sword to fall from his hands, standing still as his vision began to fade, slowly…</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Everyone sees what they want to… and the fog only deepens.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Izanagi’s presence began to dissolve, along with Yu’s senses…</p><p> </p><p><em> “We’ll meet again,” </em> he heard, busy deciding whether or not he’d heard a faint laugh as his thoughts hastily faded into nothingness.</p><p> </p><p>— — —</p><p> </p><p>Yu woke, once again, having been promptly greeted by unnatural, bright lights and a strange coldness.</p><p> </p><p>His heart was beating hard… did he have a bad dream?</p><p> </p><p>He sat up slowly, hindered slightly by a leaden feeling that seemed to have settled itself throughout Yu’s whole body. He brought a sluggish hand up to feel something wrapped around his forehead, hidden under his bangs…</p><p> </p><p>A bandage? Where was he?</p><p> </p><p>The room he’d been placed in was mostly composed of white. A small window hung to his left, and a large curtain had been drawn to his right. Yu discovered it was raining quite heavily outside, so he couldn’t exactly tell what time it was…</p><p> </p><p>The area smelled like chemicals.</p><p> </p><p>“Pardon me…”</p><p> </p><p>Yu looked up to see a pale hand gently sliding a part of the curtain back, peering at Yu with two red eyes…</p><p> </p><p>“Oh!” The stranger walked past the curtain, letting it fall back behind him, “You’re awake! I'm glad you seem to be doing better.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu studied the visitor. Long, dark hair, red eyes, matching red jacket and cap… had he met him before?</p><p> </p><p>Reading Yu’s expression, the stranger continued, a plain smile on his face, “You probably don’t remember me, do you? I’m the one who found you and that Konishi girl…” he looked off for a moment.</p><p> </p><p>“Here,” the boy with red eyes held out a small object to Yu, “I found these on the ground below you two. Are they yours?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu took the item from his hand, soon recognizing it as the glasses Teddie had made for him. He looked them over for a moment, checking for any kind of damage before placing them on the nightstand to his right.</p><p> </p><p>“Really, though,” the boy continued casually, shifting his hands into his jacket pockets, “It’s seriously a miracle you’re alive, much less awake right now. You’re sure to be the talk of the town soon enough!”</p><p> </p><p>Yu looked up, confused, hoping the stranger would continue.</p><p> </p><p>And continue he did, “What’s that look supposed to mean? Do you not remember what happened to you?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu thought back to the incident with Saki, and decided it best to nod a concise ‘no’. No one outside knew about the TV World, he assumed, and if he really was somewhere else right now...</p><p> </p><p>It’d be best to go along with whatever the townspeople thought up.</p><p> </p><p>“My, where to begin…” the boy looked down, bringing a hand to his chin for just a moment,</p><p>“Do you know about the murder of Mayumi Yamano?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu could feel his pulse quicken as he recalled the first woman they’d found back home… so her body really <em> did </em>make it back outside.</p><p> </p><p>He nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Right,” the boy with red eyes continued, “she was killed and hung upside-down from an antenna, right? Well, you and Saki Konishi were hung the same way, just from a telephone pole. I’m sure you can imagine, but everyone thought you were both dead.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu thought back… upside-down, looking at a foggy sky, glancing down to see…</p><p> </p><p>The pieces clicked. Yu <em> did </em> see this guy, back then. That thought didn’t persist for too long, however, as something else seemed to call Yu’s attention,</p><p>“What happened to her..?”</p><p> </p><p>The boy looked at Yu thoughtfully for a moment, before coming to a realization of his own,</p><p>“Oh, you mean the Konishi girl? Well, let’s see…” he half-mumbled, as if asking himself, “how do I put this..?”</p><p> </p><p>That much seemed to answer Yu’s question. </p><p> </p><p>The boy with red eyes continued, nonetheless,</p><p>“She had died long before they could even get you two down. They’re saying the cause was unknown, though there have been some theories thrown around about poison or whatnot…”</p><p> </p><p>Yu gasped. The shriek, the blood pooling from the pile of rubble, the power of the Hanged Man Arcana…</p><p> </p><p>How had he not put it together sooner..?</p><p> </p><p>“O-oh, I’m… sorry,” the boy looked glanced to his side awkwardly, “you two were close..?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu shook his head, looking down as he began to fiddle idly with the thin blanket across his lap,</p><p>“No,” he answered, his voice coming out much softer than he’d intended, “but, I think…” his mind raced with flashes of the Hanged Man Arcana, the scene depicting Saki in the way of the Shadow’s last surprise attack, defenseless, with him being thrown aside as an afterthought..</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Move, Yu! </em>
</p><p> </p><p>“She protected me,” Yu concluded.</p><p> </p><p>“I… see,” the boy shuffled his feet a bit, “I’m sorry to bring that up.”</p><p> </p><p>“O-oh, no, It’s oka-”</p><p> </p><p>Yu’s response was cut short by a second, slightly older man skittishly making his way into the enclosed area.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh?” the newest entrant nearly jumped back, looking from Yu to the boy with red eyes, “Sorry, I- didn’t know anyone else would be here. Heh,” he brought a hand to the messy hair at the back of his neck, flustered.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, no,” the boy in the red cap replied, “I was just leaving, actually,”</p><p>He took a step towards Yu, holding an empty hand out. Yu took it.</p><p> </p><p>“It was nice to meet you, Yu,” the boy gave a twisted smile, his narrow eyes curling up alongside it.</p><p> </p><p>Yu, along with the rest of the (rather crowded) room, froze as time came to an abrupt halt.</p><p> </p><p><em> Thou art I, </em> he heard once more, <em> and I am thou. </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Thou hast established a new bond… </em>
</p><p> </p><p><em> It brings thee closer... to… </em>the voice fizzled out for just a moment.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Thou shalt be blessed when wielding Personas of the World Arcana… </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Izanagi cried out for just a moment before everything resumed once again, catching Yu off guard. No new Persona, no specific presence of The World at all… what was Izanagi’s problem, anyways?</p><p> </p><p>Yu took his hand back after a moment. The boy looked at him curiously, his smile refusing to depart from his lips, before turning and leaving without a word.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve seen him before…” the suited man commented, causing Yu to realize he’d forgotten the man was standing there. He took a seat on the fold-up chair to Yu’s right, “you two know each other?”</p><p> </p><p>“...”</p><p> </p><p>“W-wait- that’s not right,” the man’s casual grin disappeared as realization darkened his expression, “he said it was nice to meet you, so, uh- guess not…”</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded, bothered by a strange, dull feeling creeping along the edges of his mind.</p><p> </p><p>“A-anyways,” the man fumbled his words as he made an effort to sit up nice and tall, disguising his normal voice with something more confident, “you can call me Detective Adachi. Or, just Adachi-san… heh.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu looked to the floor, avoiding the detective’s gaze. He was beginning to feel lightheaded…</p><p> </p><p>Almost that very moment, Izanagi erupted in Yu’s head with one booming, sharp cry, inducing a short-lived but searing pain to match. Yu clutched his head, steadying himself after the few seconds of dizziness that followed.</p><p> </p><p><em> What’s wrong, Izanagi? </em> he thought to himself.</p><p> </p><p>“Woah- hey,” Adachi half-stood, his long face drawn out in shock, “are you alright?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded, thinking of an excuse. He shifted a bit of his hair to the side as he looked blearily at the detective,</p><p>“It’s just…”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yeah,” Adachi sat back down with a sigh, “I forgot you were all bandaged up, there…”</p><p> </p><p>A few moments passed between the two in an echoing silence, interrupted only when Adachi shifted forward, clearing his throat,</p><p>“Well then, um…” he thought for a moment, “Yu, was it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Mhm.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then, Yu,” Adachi ran a hand through his hair, seemingly unsure of himself, “are you… from around here? I don’t think I recognize you... Then again, I’ve only been here a couple of months, myself,” he gave Yu a crooked smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Not… really,” Yu answered, silently pleading that this guy wouldn’t ask him where he came from…</p><p> </p><p>“So you’re from out of town… kinda strange how you ended up in Inaba then, isn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu stared for a moment, wondering if the suspicious tone of the detective’s voice was partly his imagination or not,</p><p>“Yeah…”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you remember anything?” the man looked to Yu seriously, “What happened to the two of you?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu shook his head. He had a sneaking suspicion that something like, <em> Saki Konishi was killed by the manifestation of her inner thoughts, </em>would not suffice.</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing at all, huh? Well, I guess that can’t be helped,” Adachi shrugged, “the important thing is that you’re safe.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu looked up, tracking another set of footsteps as they entered the room,</p><p>“Adachi,” an impatient man’s voice called, “are you still in here?”</p><p> </p><p>“Crap, is it that time already?” Adachi fumbled with something in his pocket, pulling out a small, rectangular object,</p><p>“Sorry,” he called out to the older man as he opened the curtain, “-lost track of time! Heh.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, you’re awake. That’s good,” the older man, who absolutely reeked of cigarette smoke, acknowledged Yu for a moment, quickly turning to who Yu assumed to be his colleague,</p><p>“I got everything we needed on Konishi. Let’s head back.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah- right,” Adachi nodded, beginning to follow the now-departed man outside.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” Adachi looked to Yu as he walked past, “I just remembered- be sure to get some rest tonight. We’ll be back here tomorrow to pick you up.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu stared, wildly confused.</p><p> </p><p>“O-oh, only if you’re up to it, that is… don’t worry, we’d just be asking you a few questions down at the Police Station. Not like there’s anything wrong with this place, it’s just… we’d prefer somewhere more confidential for a case like this.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu looked down. Questions? Case..?</p><p> </p><p>“Is that alright?” Adachi asked, anxious to leave as requested.</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay,” the detective sighed, already rushing out the door, “I’ll see you tomorrow then, Yu.”</p><p> </p><p>…</p><p> </p><p>Yu listened out for a minute or two, wearily making sure there wouldn’t be some fourth surprise guest, before eagerly falling backward onto the pillow positioned behind him. Dealing with people was much more tiring than dealing with Shadows…</p><p> </p><p>He turned his head to absentmindedly observe the heavy raindrops making their way down the window next to him. </p><p> </p><p>It seemed, from what Yu had put together, that the deaths of Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi were viewed as murders here. And, because he appeared alongside Saki, Yu was… a third victim?</p><p> </p><p>However, the truth was, someone had thrown those two women inside of the TV World. This, in turn, meant the culprit could also<em> enter the TV </em> . Of course, Yu had never seen anyone besides the victims inside, and even if he <em> had </em>seen the killer, he couldn’t confide in anyone here…</p><p> </p><p>Not only that, but Yu was a total outsider to these people. He couldn’t tell anyone where he lived, and he didn’t have a… what did Saki call it-?</p><p> </p><p>...A ‘family name’. He didn’t have one of those.</p><p> </p><p>He shut his eyes tight. He’d think it all over tomorrow… and, if he was lucky, a ‘questioning’ wouldn’t last too long. Then, he could find the nearest television and <em> go home. </em></p><p> </p><p>As he allowed the dull sound of the rain to overtake his thoughts, one last question came to Yu’s mind as he recalled the events of that day,</p><p>
  <em> How did that red-eyed guy know my name..? </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. police interrogation and many questions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Teenage Angst and Local Meat Girl know something no one else knows!</p><p>Boy Who Woke Up Yesterday is questioned by Inaba PD!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I genuinely don’t know what goes on during police questioning, so this is definitely 0% accurate, but this is also a game where you can summon your inner self to beat up bad guys. Anything goes, right?</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I- Chie…”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey!” Chie answered along with a wave, giving Yosuke a slight smile as she turned from the bulletin board in front of her to face her friend, appearing from the hallway to her left, “Are you doing okay, Yosuke?”</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke gave a concise nod, “I was thinking…”</p><p> </p><p>“Thinking?!” Chie pretended to marvel at Yosuke’s newfound ‘ability’, “I didn’t know you could do that!”</p><p> </p><p>The boy studied the floor for a moment or two, folding his arms as he continued, “You’ve heard what people have been saying… about seeing Saki on the Midnight Channel last night?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yosuke!” Chie dropped the fact that Yosuke completely blew off her joke in order to berate the boy, “Not you too!”</p><p> </p><p>“Just- hear me out!” Yosuke pleaded, clearing his throat before adding, “It’s just, didn’t someone say they saw Ms. Yamano on there, the night before she died, too? And, Senpai, she- looked like she was in pain. Look-”</p><p> </p><p>“Whoa, calm down already!” Chie folded her arms, tapping her foot on the wooden floor, “You’re saying you think the Midnight Channel is connected to the murders?”</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke nodded, avoiding Chie’s gaze, “I can’t say for sure, but…”</p><p> </p><p>“Well…” the girl continued, sliding her hands into her jacket pockets, “You might be onto something, but…”</p><p> </p><p>She shuffled her feet a bit before continuing, “That’d have to be some kind of, like, special broadcast from the killer, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“If it is,” Yosuke looked up to Chie, taking a step forward, “we have to do <em> something. </em>Inaba’s a small town. If we can find out who’s going in next, we can probably help them.”</p><p> </p><p>“You think so..? Oh, what the heck,” Chie stuck out her hand, “let’s do it. We’ll start by… watching the Midnight Channel regularly.”</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke nodded, his eyes filled to the brim with determination, “Right.”</p><p> </p><p>“...hey, have you heard?”</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke and Chie’s handshake was brought to a halt by a rather loud couple of gossiping classmates that neither recognized by name.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” a brunette said, “heard what?”</p><p> </p><p>“You haven’t seen the news?!,” a black-haired girl stopped, turning to her friend, “Apparently, they found a boy our age strung up beside Saki.”</p><p> </p><p>“No way,” the brunette gasped, “is it anyone we know?”</p><p> </p><p>The other girl shook her head, “I don’t think I’ve seen him at all before. Everyone I’ve talked to has said the same thing, too.”</p><p> </p><p>“So… what? He’s from out of town or something?”</p><p> </p><p>“Wait..!” the black-haired girl stepped back, “That would mean the killer went outside of Inaba, and then dumped the body here!”</p><p> </p><p>“Waaah! I didn’t think of that!” the brunette brought a hand to cover her mouth, “That’s terrible!”!</p><p> </p><p>“Right?” the black-haired girl replied as the two turned to make their way down the stairs. </p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” Chie commented, turning back to face Yosuke, “Ive been hearing about him all day. Apparently, he was found unconscious, hung beside Saki.”</p><p> </p><p>“Huh? Really?” Yosuke asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Mhm,” Chie continued, “and, from what I’ve heard, nobody knows him either, even though he’s our age. He lived, too.”</p><p> </p><p>“A second victim..? Did he appear on the Midnight Channel, too?”</p><p> </p><p>Chie shook her head,</p><p>”Not that I know of.”</p><p> </p><p>The green-clad girl turned without a second glance towards her friend, taking slow steps down the stairs.</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke practically threw himself down the stairwell to catch up with Chie, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”</p><p> </p><p>Chie skipped the last stair, hopping onto the first floor as she turned to face Yosuke with a determined glint in her eye,</p><p>“We’re gonna find out just what happened to Saki-senpai!”</p><p> </p><p>— — —</p><p> </p><p>Yu gently tucked away the silver glasses Teddie had made for him into an inner pocket of his jacket, glad to have his normal clothes back on. Thinking back to the previous day, he realized just how much his clothing resembled the young detective’s, though, he preferred his jacket to be buttoned.</p><p> </p><p>Time seemed to pass by extraordinary slowly in hospital rooms, and Yu gave the empty area a short once-over before turning to the window at the very edge of the room. It looked like the rain from yesterday continued overnight… and into that day, as well.</p><p> </p><p>Yu didn’t mind. He hadn’t much experience with rain, after all. He thought it had a nice sound.</p><p> </p><p>Any further appreciation for the weather was interrupted by a few quick footsteps approaching Yu. Turning around, he recognized a female nurse he’d seen once or twice the day before.</p><p> </p><p>“Good morning,” the woman in question looked over the clipboard in her hands before looking up to Yu,</p><p>“Everything’s all set. You’re free to go, whenever you’re ready.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, by the way,” the nurse added, “they’re ready for you downstairs.”</p><p> </p><p>With a flip of her short black ponytail, the nurse turned to leave, stopping once more in the doorway.</p><p> </p><p>She turned back to face Yu, “Do you know how to get back down to the first floor? You just make a left from here. The elevators are on that back wall.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks,” Yu replied.</p><p> </p><p>The nurse nodded, shooting Yu a caring glance before making her exit.</p><p> </p><p>Yu’s stomach sank as he sluggishly followed the nurse’s directions. Police questioning, huh..? Guess there was no getting out of that…</p><p> </p><p>He noticed, as he stood in the (thankfully) empty elevator, that he seemed to feel better than he had yesterday. Physically, at least. He decided to wait until the questioning to really focus on anything in particular about the recent events, and allowed his mind to blank out.</p><p> </p><p>Yu caught sight of the younger detective from yesterday, waiting patiently in the lobby.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, it’s you,” the detective stood, readying an umbrella he held at his side, “Ready to go?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded, and the detective turned to leave. He followed, ignoring a few curious glances from passersby. Adachi offered to let him use his umbrella  as they walked outside, but Yu refused, taking a moment to appreciate the cold droplets on his skin. </p><p> </p><p>He soon was introduced to the back seat of a rather old-fashioned police car that had been parked out front. The older, more gruff officer from yesterday sat in the driver’s seat, casually putting out a cigarette as Adachi took the passenger’s side.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” Adachi spoke up while the three began to make their leave, “Yu, this is Detective Dojima… don’t worry, he’s not as rough as he looks.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want to test me, Adachi?” the older detective answered with a humorless tone, not taking his eyes off of the road.</p><p> </p><p>“Er- no, sir…”</p><p> </p><p>Yu didn’t respond. He’d busied himself with admiring how quickly the landscape passed by. The rain made everything appear hazy and glistening, and he wanted to take it all in. Maybe a visit out here every once in a while wouldn’t be so bad…</p><p> </p><p>Maybe Kusumi and Teddie could come with him, next time.</p><p> </p><p>He was sure that more than a few glances had been cast his way during the wordless drive, but Yu didn’t acknowledge them.</p><p> </p><p>— — —</p><p> </p><p>The arrival was signaled by a deep sigh from Dojima, and an unimpressive announcement of ‘We’re here,’  from Adachi.</p><p> </p><p>Yu followed the two detectives through an entrance way full of busy individuals, past a few sparsely populated, brightly-lit hallways, and into a small, empty, cold room. There was a bed off to the side... would he have to stay overnight? Spotting the television placed atop a small dresser in the corner, Yu figured he could always just leave anyways…</p><p> </p><p>“Here,” Adachi pulled out a folding chair on one side of a small table, signaling Yu to sit as he circled around to take his own seat opposite the boy. Yu obliged. Dojima took his own place, still standing, a little ways off to Yu’s left.</p><p> </p><p>“Well then,” as the three of them settled, Adachi brought a small notepad and a pen from his jacket pocket, “guess we should get started.”</p><p> </p><p>Absent-mindedly flipping through a few blank pages, Adachi continued, “First off, I guess- we do have reason to suspect you. I just wanted you to know, s- ack!”</p><p> </p><p>Adachi’s monologue was cut shot by the loud <em>bang</em> of Dojima’s hand slamming against the table.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, then… ah,” Adachi brought a hand to the back of his neck, “Forget what I said. Yu, were you kidnapped? Do you remember what you were doing at the time?”</p><p> </p><p>“I…” Yu took a moment to ponder his phrasing, “I was outside, then I saw Konishi. That’s all I know…”</p><p> </p><p>“Outside?” Dojima asked, “Where were you?”</p><p> </p><p>“I was…” Yu recalled the words he had heard during his brief awakening while hung upside-down, “-the Shopping District.”</p><p> </p><p>“Huh? Hold on,” Adachi looked to Yu with a suspicious gaze, “you said you weren’t from around here, didn’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu stared back at the detective for a minute before answering, </p><p>“I was visiting.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh?” Dojima spoke up, “Are you visiting relatives?”</p><p> </p><p>“Rela- huh..? I don’t… think I have that.”</p><p> </p><p>“No family at all?” Adachi wrote something down, a surprised look on his face, “I guess that’d make you an easy target, though.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu noted that ‘relatives’ meant ‘family’.</p><p> </p><p>Dojima muttered, “Explains why no one contacted the P.D. about you. Anyways,” he spoke back up, his voice clear, “that <em> would </em> mean that the killer was keeping track of his victims and their personal lives. That’s something to be concerned about, without a doubt.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Adachi replied, his eyes wide as realization dawned on him, “Yamano and Konishi were at least well known around here, but I’ve never seen Yu before. With him in the mix, it’s not a stretch to say that the killer knows these people personally, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu thought for a moment. What if the killer <em> did </em>know about him? Not as close as Dojima had implied, but the culprit could have known about the Shadows emitted from human beings inside of that world. If he really could enter the TV, it could be possible, right..?</p><p> </p><p>Dojima nodded, “We can discuss that later. Let’s keep going.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu made a mental note to discuss his own theories further with Kusumi and Teddie.</p><p> </p><p>“A-alright..!” Adachi began writing something hurriedly, “Now, you said you saw Saki Konishi? Was she in danger at the time?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu shoved down a few memories of Saki’s Shadow and nodded,</p><p>“She was being threatened,” he added.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay,” Dojima spoke up, pleased with Yu’s answer, “that makes sense.”</p><p> </p><p>The older detective continued after collecting his thoughts for a moment, “The killer attacked Konishi because she found Yamano’s body, and then Yu because he was a witness.”</p><p> </p><p><em> That too, </em> Yu thought, <em> it might have some kind of truth to it. </em></p><p> </p><p>Adachi marveled, “Oh yeah, you’re right! That’s a pretty good explanation. Then,” he turned to Yu, “did you manage to catch a glimpse of the culprit? Clothes, hair color, anything would help, really…”</p><p> </p><p>Was Adachi nervous? He brought his hands together, on top of the table, picking at his nails. Maybe he was itching to get out, Yu thought, realizing how desperately he too wanted to leave and talk to his friends.</p><p> </p><p>Yu studied the ceiling for a moment. Of course he hadn’t seen the killer, <em> yet </em>, but…</p><p> </p><p>He took a good look at the younger detective before answering,</p><p>“Messy brown hair…” Yu spoke slowly as Adachi fumbled with his pen a bit before recording his testimony, “red tie, black suit that isn’t fit for police work in the country…”</p><p> </p><p>Adachi froze, forcing his eyes to remain settled on his notebook as Yu finished his description. Dojima shot the boy a serious glare,</p><p>“Are you messing with us?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded, returning Dojima’s stare with relative indifference.</p><p> </p><p>“Geez,” Adachi relaxed, leaning back in his chair as he punched the bridge of his nose, “you really shouldn’t joke like that, kid! You could get in trouble.”</p><p> </p><p>“...bad posture, long mouth,” Yu continued.</p><p> </p><p>Adachi sighed, leaning forward and resting his chin on one hand, “Anything else you wanna add?”</p><p> </p><p>“Amateur detective,” Yu concluded, unblinking.</p><p> </p><p>Adachi nearly snapped in half the pen he held in his hand, having already closed his notebook tight. Though, to his credit, he did make an effort to keep a pleasant expression.</p><p> </p><p>“Ha! He got you there,” Dojima quickly stifled a laugh and turned back to Yu, “<em> ahem, </em>but, you really shouldn’t insult a police officer like that. Seriously.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, okay,” Adachi exaggeratedly set his hands atop the table in front of him, pulling his seat forward, “let’s just get this over with.”</p><p> </p><p>“So,” Adachi continued, re-opening the notepad, “you didn’t see the killer. Is that right?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu shook his head, “It was too foggy out.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay. No, then. Let’s see… did you see what specifically Ms. Konishi was threatened with, or do you remember what happened to you?”</p><p> </p><p>“No… not really,” Yu tried his best to answer while keeping his own halfway made-up story in check, “I thought the culprit was gone, so I also thought she was safe. Then…”</p><p> </p><p>Dojima finished Yu’s sentence, “That’s when you were attacked.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded, his mind drifting to the events from… was it last night? No, night before last, right? Something like that… Yu had never needed to count days before, so this whole timeline thing became a twisting roadblock in his train of thought.</p><p> </p><p>“Both of us,” Yu’s clasped his hands on top of the table, disregarding the time-based issue, “we were both attacked at the same time. Then, Konishi… saved my life.”</p><p> </p><p>Both detectives gave Yu a curious stare. He brought his hands closer to himself before continuing,</p><p>“She shoved me out of the way… I don’t know what from.”</p><p> </p><p>“Something physical?” Adachi looked up in thought, “I guess that’d line up with the medical report.”</p><p> </p><p>“Report..?” Yu looked back and forth the two detectives, “I thought they didn’t know the cause of her death.”</p><p> </p><p>“Huh? I don’t think so…” Adachi answered, “That was the case for Mayumi Yamano, but Konishi’s was more obvious. The back of her head was all messed up, like she’d been thrown against something..!”</p><p> </p><p>“And,” Dojima added, looking to Yu, “it was the same type of injury for you, right? On a much lesser scale, of course.”</p><p> </p><p>“It… was?” Yu brought a hand up to where his bandage used to be, “I guess…”</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s see,” Adachi scratched at the back of his neck, </p><p>“Lemme get all this straight. You came to visit Inaba, alone, and you went out at night. You saw Konishi being threatened somewhere in the Shopping District, and approached her when you thought the culprit was gone. Then, she shoves you aside, taking the majority of whatever damage the killer caused. Does that sound about right?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded. He’d tuned out most of what Adachi had said, but he figured it couldn’t be any more correct than the theories they’d been discussing before now. Yu had decided, he’d take up his own investigation. With Kusumi and Teddie, of course... he did not take kindly to someone threatening his home, and those three were the only ones who knew about the killer’s method. Other than the culprit, that is. And probably the victims.</p><p> </p><p>“He must have thought he had killed you both. Explains why he bothered to hang you up there,” Dojima looked off to his side in thought, “Could there have been any other witnesses?”</p><p> </p><p>“I doubt it, Dojima-san,” Adachi replied, “it was all fogged up, and pretty late at that. Yu here just got lucky.”</p><p> </p><p>“I…” Dojima looked to Adachi, “don’t think lucky is the right word to use, here.”</p><p> </p><p>“Er- ri-right… but,” the detective glanced at Yu before looking back to his colleague, “the killer seems to be silencing witnesses. I doubt many people would come forward after this last case. I’m surprised we received a call about the bodies at all.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good point…” Dojima grimaced, turning his face to the side for a moment before continuing, “well, we’ll have to rely on Yu’s testimony for now.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sounds like a solid story to me,” Adachi leaned back, stretching his arms upwards, “are we about done here, Dojima-san?”</p><p> </p><p>Dojima grumbled, “I guess so. Yu,” he looked to the boy, “you said you didn’t have any family. Are you living alone while you’re staying here?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu shook his head, “I… live with friends.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, I see… I guess that’s fine, then,” Dojima turned, opening the door behind them, “You're free to leave whenever you want. Head straight home, and don’t go out alone. Okay?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded, watching the older detective’s back disappear  as he made his exit, shutting the door behind him.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” Adachi spoke up, taking a step towards Yu, “I never caught your last name, kid.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s… just Yu,” he stuffed his hands into his coat pockets, “-no family name.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm? Guess that thing about your family is true, then…” Adachi looked up in thought, “You’re a strange one.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu stared at the detective, searching his expression. Adachi continued, returning Yu’s gaze,</p><p>“No family, no last name. Where do you even live?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nowhere you’d know about,” Yu mumbled, casting his eyes back down to his feet.</p><p> </p><p>“Is that so?”</p><p> </p><p>Adachi shot a quick glance to the television in the corner of the room, immediately turning toward the door afterward. He spoke to Yu over his shoulder before reaching out to the doorknob,</p><p>“You know,” the detective’s expression remained blank, “I’ve seen a lot of shocking things during my time as a cop,” </p><p>His thin lips curled into a long, sinister smirk as he opened the door, “Maybe, next time, you can tell me what actually happened.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu refused to respond, and after a brief moment of silence, Adachi continued,</p><p>“I… don’t see why Dojima-san should know about this. Not that he doesn’t have his own suspicions, but there’s nothing <em> he </em> can prove.”</p><p> </p><p>Adachi continued forward, finally taking his eerie gaze off of Yu, “I’ll be keeping an eye on you. Go-o-d-bye.”</p><p> </p><p>With a loud <em> ‘Click’, </em> the door closed.</p><p> </p><p>The room seemed to multiply in darkness and a cold chill settled throughout Yu’s body.</p><p> </p><p><em> Adachi knew, </em> he thought to himself.</p><p> </p><p>He began to make his leave, absentmindedly re-tracing the path they had taken earlier in order to exit the small Police Station.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> How much did Adachi know? </em>
</p><p> </p><p><b> <em>How</em> </b> <em> did Adachi know? </em></p><p> </p><p>Yu decided to shove away his anxieties as he finally exited the building. The sky had cleared, mostly, and the sun shone on the slick roads. It felt like spring, Yu thought.</p><p> </p><p>He would worry about Adachi later. It’s not like he’d ever felt his presence in the TV World, or anything… maybe that was his way of offering to help with Yu’s private investigation. If Yu was lucky enough for that to happen, that is.</p><p> </p><p>Whatever his goal, Yu decided he’d deal with Adachi as he went along. He just needed to get Kusumi and Teddie on board, and they’d be able to put a stop to this killer. They had to, Yu figured.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. hope (and unfortunate irony)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Yu wanders and makes conversation with someone who was very close to Mayumi Yamano!</p><p>Chie’s true motives are revealed!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello!! I’m so sorry these last few chapters have been so off, I hit a bit of a rough patch back there. I think I know where I want to go from here! Please stay tuned and, if possible, ignore chapters 4-6 entirely thank u</p><p>Update schedule stuff at the end ^_^</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Adachi shut the door behind him, searching the lifeless hall for any sign of Dojima. <em> He must have gone back to his desk, </em> Adachi thought, <em> he’s so predictable. </em></p><p> </p><p>The young detective donned his usual, easygoing smile, fiddling with the cold metal of the gun he kept holstered on his right hip as he wandered in search of his colleague.</p><p> </p><p>Dojima was easy enough to find, it seemed like he hadn’t left his desk since Yu’s interrogation had ended. The older detective was kept busy with numerous files and records of some sort.</p><p> </p><p>“You know,” Adachi called out, “sitting like that is bad for your back. You’ll be hunched over before you turn 45, Dojima-san.”</p><p> </p><p>“Speak for yourself,” Dojima replied, refusing his gaze to part with the papers in front of him.</p><p> </p><p>Adachi unconsciously straightened his posture as he came to stand beside Dojima’s desk,</p><p>“Whatcha got there?”</p><p> </p><p>Dojima grumbled, “ I can’t find anything on that kid. No family history, no school or medical records, even the Inaba Municipal Hospital doesn’t have anything on him. It’s like he didn’t even exist until he showed up a few days ago.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yu?” Adachi corrected his boss, “Yeah, he told me he didn’t have a family name, either. Sure is odd…”</p><p> </p><p>Dojima looked up to his colleague, searching his expression. Adachi froze for a moment, waiting for Dojima to speak whatever was on his mind.</p><p> </p><p>“What did you think of him?” Dojima finally asked, turning in his chair to face Adachi fully.</p><p> </p><p>“Eh, well- let’s see,” Adachi fumbled with his words as he struggled over his phrasing, “he’s definitely hiding something, but I don’t think it’s anything we could have easily gotten out of him. He seems too reserved.”</p><p> </p><p>“So you think so too,” Dojima nodded, “did he leave already?”</p><p> </p><p>“Ye-yeah, I think so…” Adachi responded, exaggeratedly bringing a hand to the back of his neck.</p><p> </p><p>Dojima mumbled, his face twisting into a grimace, “-shouldn’t have let him leave that early. No means of getting in touch with him, either…”</p><p> </p><p>Speaking back up, the older detective continued, “it’s a pretty weak testimony, considering the lack of witnesses, but I guess it’s all we have to go on.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s pretty easy to fabricate, though…” Adachi added, casting his eyes down at his shoes.</p><p> </p><p>“That it is…” Dojima agreed solemnly.</p><p> </p><p>After a moment or two of near-silence, filled only with the second-by-second ticking of a wall-hung clock, Dojima hurriedly stood up from his desk.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you going somewhere, Dojima-san?”</p><p> </p><p>Dojima flung his jacket over his left shoulder, “Just outside. I need a smoke… might be another long night. Hey,” he turned to face Adachi, “go through those files while I’m out, got it?”</p><p> </p><p>“What? Why me?!” Adachi stepped back.</p><p> </p><p>Dojima pretended he didn’t hear him and continued, “-and I want you to keep an eye on that Yu kid. Nothing too demanding, just like if you’re slacking off again and happen to see him around town somewhere, try to keep tabs on him.”</p><p> </p><p>The detective turned without another word and left Adachi, who sighed heavily. He didn’t bother to bring any of the files to his own desk as he apathetically sat at Dojima’s.</p><p> </p><p>“-years of studying and hard work and I’m stuck looking through someone else’s paperwork,” Adachi mumbled, not bothering to actually check anything in the papers. He knew he wouldn’t find anything.</p><p> </p><p>He knew Yu wasn’t human. How he knew, he wasn’t sure, but something inside of Adachi responded to whatever that kid was. It was the same feeling he got when he’d found that his hand could fall through the TV.</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t need Dojima’s approval to keep tabs on the brat, anyways. It was a real buzzkill, being told to keep track of someone you’d already planned on watching.</p><p> </p><p>— — —</p><p> </p><p>One would think that it would be difficult to find a television to climb into when you were out in an unfamiliar public. And one would be correct.</p><p> </p><p>There were times during Yu’s wandering when he wished he’d asked somebody where he could find a TV. There were times he wished he’d just climbed into the TV back in the Police Station and called it a day.</p><p> </p><p>However, walking around such a quaint place like Inaba began to feel very nostalgic to Yu. It’s like it reminded him of the TV World of the past; where, when he wasn’t taking care of the occasional Shadow, he was free to explore as he pleased. Thinking about his old home seemed to cause Yu’s stomach to twist, and he quickly shoved away the thought before he had a chance to dwell on it too long.</p><p> </p><p>Instead, he decided to make the best of his situation and take in his surroundings. The empty roads had long since dried out from the morning rain, but the damp grass glistened in the sun the exact way you’d expect damp grass to glisten in the sun. Yu thought it looked nice, nonetheless.</p><p> </p><p>Yu was distracted by the sound of natural running water- something he had not heard in quite a few weeks. He allowed himself a slight detour from the road in front of him, and instead began eyeing the large river below a slope to his right side.</p><p> </p><p>Once Yu had made his way down a set of concrete stairs leading to the river bed, he stepped forward along a gravel path, admiring the bright glow of the midday sun reflected in the current. There was a long slab of concrete stretching into the middle of the river, where an old man was fishing. He didn’t seem to notice Yu’s arrival, and Yu thought it best to leave him be.</p><p> </p><p>Yu did, however, become aware of a strange pair of eyes digging into his back. He turned, locking eyes with another, middle-aged man in plain clothes who returned his gaze. The man sat slumped over on a tree stump, and though Yu was at a fair distance, he could tell how pale the stranger’s face was, and how his eyes seemed to sink in.</p><p> </p><p>Yu approached the man, and neither broke their gaze away from the other. Once the stranger had realized Yu was nearing him, he, (rather ungracefully,) scrambled to stand up, mumbling something to himself. Yu waited to see if the man would say anything to him.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you…” the stranger began, “you were- Mayumi…”</p><p> </p><p>Up close, Yu observed, the man looked even worse than he’d thought. His dark and short, receded hair stuck up in various places, as if he hadn’t combed through it in days. He looked up at Yu in distress (he was a bit shorter than Yu, which felt odd considering the man’s age,) with wide, dull brown eyes, and though his arms hung simply at his sides, his hands had a visible tremor to them.</p><p> </p><p>The man took a short breath before speaking again, “You- you’re the one who…”</p><p> </p><p>Yu blinked. He hadn’t seen this man before; the man had a mole centered between his eyes that Yu was sure he would have remembered. However, the police detectives and that red-eyed guy with ‘Moel’ on his cap seemed to know who Yu was, so maybe it wasn’t all that strange for him to be recognized.</p><p> </p><p>“You lived,” the man continued, his voice shaken up, “you were up there with… Saki Konishi…”</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Please,” the man pleaded with haste, sweat beading on his forehead, “tell me what happened to Mayumi..!”</p><p> </p><p>Yu took a moment to think. Mayumi… was the first woman who died inside of the TV World, right?</p><p> </p><p>“Mayumi… Yamano?” Yu questioned, “You knew her?”</p><p> </p><p>The man nodded, taking an unsteady step forward, “She was… we were-”</p><p> </p><p><em> He must have been close to her, </em> Yu thought, <em> is this how people react to losing someone they love? </em></p><p> </p><p>Yu shook his head, halting the man from rambling any longer,</p><p>“I’ll tell you,” Yu agreed, intrigued by this man’s behavior, departing to take a seat on one of the tree stumps facing the river. The man followed, sitting likewise next to him.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“I didn’t see who did it, and I didn’t see Ms. Yamano, really, but…” Yu began slowly, his eyes focused on the flow of the water in front of him, “I saw what happened to Saki Konishi.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu glanced at the man, who had also kept his attention focused in front of him. He wasn’t following anything in particular, and Yu figured, judging by the man’s state, that he had a lot on his mind.</p><p> </p><p>Yu glanced behind and around himself, focusing his eyes back on the water only when he’d found the area to still be empty enough. It was only a bit after noon, Yu figured, and he began to wonder why there weren’t more people out.</p><p> </p><p>“She died quickly,” Yu began bluntly, reaffirming the presence of Berith in his mind as he spoke, “I doubt she knew what hit her before…”</p><p> </p><p>He shook his head, looking to the man next to him. This time, he seemed to look back at Yu calmly, and clasped his hands together as he simply asked,</p><p>“Was she scared?”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Move, Yu! </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Yu shook his head,</p><p>“Saki was very brave,” he gave the stranger an honest look, “I’m sure Ms. Yamano was the same way.”</p><p> </p><p>The man thought for a moment, casting his gaze downward, before nodding.</p><p> </p><p>“Mayumi,” the man began, shakily, “she was… such a kind woman. Even after the affair became common knowledge, she…”</p><p> </p><p>Yu’s gaze remained on the man, “Affair?”</p><p> </p><p>The man looked back at Yu, his eyes wide, “You… you don’t know who I am, do you? Or Mayumi?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu shook his head.</p><p> </p><p>The man gave an exhausted chuckle, a hint of a smirk making its way onto his face for just a moment,</p><p>“Heh, I don’t know why I’m surprised. I’m just another councilman, and I chose another woman over my wife,” he ran a hand through his thin hair, “but, who knew it’d end up like this..?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu noted that an ‘affair’ was a complicated matter.</p><p> </p><p>“My name is Taro Namatame,” the man sighed and introduced himself, sticking out a hand.</p><p> </p><p>“Yu,” Yu replied bluntly, taking Namatame’s hand in a firm handshake.</p><p> </p><p>Namatame nodded, and the two returned their eyes to the river in front of them. An insignificant breeze passed through the riverbank, and Yu found it pleasing the way his bangs became ruffled.</p><p> </p><p>“Mayumi,” Namatame began with a sigh, “she was my lover. But, while I was seeing her, I was still married…”</p><p> </p><p>Yu sat straighter up, gears turning in his mind, “Your wife… could she have-”</p><p> </p><p>Namatame shook his head, his eyes tired and focused straight ahead, “Could she have killed Mayumi?” he looked to Yu, “Heh, I’ve wondered that myself. And, no, you’re not the first to ask me that. But, there’s not a chance it was her. See, my wife’s a famous enka singer. She was far overseas at the time.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded, a bit downput that his theory was so swiftly debunked. Not that it showed on his face.</p><p> </p><p>“They suspected me too, you know,” Namatame looked back to Yu with sympathy, which Yu found out of place, “I’m sure your situation is similar.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu looked down. He hadn’t bothered to re-think much of the questioning from that morning, however…</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> …I… don’t see why Dojima-san should know about this. Not that he doesn’t have his own suspicions, but there’s nothing he can prove. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> I’ll be keeping an eye on you. Go-o-d-bye… </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Adachi’s words echoed throughout Yu’s mind.</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded in response to Namatame.</p><p> </p><p>“I thought so,” Namatame affirmed.</p><p> </p><p>A moment or two passed while Namatame meticulously thought over his words.</p><p> </p><p>“Yu-kun, if…” he sighed, then continued, “if you- if you ever need someone to talk to, please, feel free to find me.</p><p> </p><p>“I know I’m not the ideal person, but, I feel it’s the least I could do… you’ve gone through so much because of me.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu’s world froze once again, and he began to wonder if he was getting used to it. </p><p> </p><p><em> Thou art I, </em> he heard, <em> and I am thou. </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Thou hast established a new bond… </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> It brings thee closer to the truth. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Thou shalt be blessed when wielding Personas of the Hope Arcana… </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Izanagi let out a sharp cry, and the faint presence of the Hope Arcana settled deep within Yu’s mind. Not a moment later, everything in front of Yu resumed again, and he noticed just then how the sound of the river had become white noise during he and Namatame’s conversation.</p><p> </p><p>This reminded Yu that Namatame existed.</p><p> </p><p>“What happened to me… you mean when I was found alongside Saki, right?” Yu replied to Namatame’s earlier statement, bringing his hands to his pockets as he stood up,</p><p>“It had nothing to do with you, Namatame. Er- sir…”</p><p> </p><p>Namatame followed suit and stood alongside Yu,</p><p>“Maybe… even if that’s true, please keep my offer in mind.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s… strange, but… I feel if I’m able to help you, I’d be able to apologize to Mayumi.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu blinked. He had no connection to Mayumi Yamano, and neither were capable of speaking to her, so…</p><p> </p><p>He decided to roll with it, nonetheless.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry,” Namatame continued, cringing, “that’s selfish, isn’t it? Please, ignore me.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu shook his head and replied honestly,</p><p>“You’re… an interesting person.”</p><p> </p><p>Namatame gave a slight chuckle,</p><p>“I’m ‘Interesting’, huh? I don’t know how I should feel about that.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu shuffled his feet, unsure of what else to say when he noticed a young, elementary school age girl making her way down the concrete </p><p>steps. Looking up at the road above the riverbank, Yu noticed there was a handful of similarly-dressed kids walking along.</p><p> </p><p>“Is it already that late?” Namatame asked, following Yu’s gaze, “Those are students of Yasogami High School. Class must have just been let out…”</p><p> </p><p>Namatame looked back at Yu for a moment, taking a short pause before continuing,</p><p>“You know, you look about their age. Aren't you a student, too?”</p><p> </p><p>“Student..?” Yu returned Namatame’s gaze, “I don’t… think so.”</p><p> </p><p>“Really? How strange… I guess it happens, though,” Namatame commented,</p><p>“You should be getting home, anyways. I don’t want to keep you for too long.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded, taking one more look at the shining river before turning towards the road again.</p><p> </p><p>“Yu-kun?” Namatame called out from behind Yu, “please, be careful.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu turned to the man and nodded, bidding a farewell of his own,</p><p>“I’ll keep your offer in mind, Mr. Namatame.”</p><p> </p><p>This would have been a nice moment to end the segment, however, Yu still does not know how to get home.</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, one more thing,” Yu turned once more, calling Namatame’s attention,</p><p>“Where can I find a television here?”</p><p> </p><p>— — —</p><p> </p><p>“Junes?” Yosuke exclaimed, accidentally calling the attention of a few fellow students on the busy road, “Why <em> there </em>?!”</p><p> </p><p>“Because,” Chie retorted, “Junes is, like, basically the center of town! Everyone goes there.”</p><p> </p><p>“Um, not if you’re the escaped victim of a serial murderer.”</p><p> </p><p>“...hey, Yosuke,” Chie disregarded Yosuke’s comment and looked straight ahead, “what’s on the menu at the food court today?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, they just added a new grilled stea- hey!” Yosuke stopped upon his realization, and Chie’s eyes met his as she turned back to look at him,</p><p>“You just want to use me so you can eat!” Yosuke concluded.</p><p> </p><p>Chie tapped a foot on the ground, “No, this is just payback for you breaking my Trial of the Dragon. Plus, you get a discount at Junes, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s- well…”</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke sighed, decided an argument wasn’t worth it, and walked on. Chie followed behind him.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” Chie added in a sweet tone, “trust me! We’re killing two birds with one stone here.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t talk to me,” Yosuke pouted, folding his arms as he continued along the path from Yasogami High to Junes he’d been slowly getting used to.</p><p> </p><p><em> This is for Saki, </em> he thought, <em> Chie’s an ass, but you’re doing this for Saki. </em></p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Screw it, Persona 5 Strikers social link in Persona 4</p><p>I’m also sorry this took a bit longer than expected! That section with Namatame was originally with the Moel attendant, and I’ve re done the part with Chie and Yosuke a thousand times, and this chapter has simply not vibed with me, but I do like how it turned out!</p><p>I may not be able to stick to a weekly update schedule, but when I do update, it’ll be on the weekend. And, thank you if you’ve managed to stick around this long!!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. you should know the truth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Yu is dragged atop Junes by two pushy high-schoolers!</p><p>Later, a bond-representing Arcana in distress alerts those existing between mind and matter, dream and reality!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I’m super duper sorry this took so long!! If you’ve been waiting, thank you for your patience ^_^</p><p>This chapter has over 5k words!! Please relax and enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“No,” Yu replied, making eye contact with the two high school students who had sat him down, interrogating him atop Junes, “the killer didn’t know I existed until that night.”</p><p> </p><p><em> Neither did anyone else out here, </em> Yu thought to himself with a slight bitterness, <em> but that’s not something these people should bother themselves with. </em></p><p> </p><p>Yu continued, “That’s why I wasn’t on that… um…”</p><p> </p><p>“The Midnight Channel” the excited girl in the green jacket, Chie, replied, taking another hasty bite of her steak.</p><p> </p><p>The agitated boy with dyed hair, Yosuke, commented, “Geez, eat a little slower, will you? I’m the one who bought that, you know!”</p><p> </p><p>“What?” the girl replied, pointing her fork at Yosuke almost reflexively, “don’t tell a woman how to eat!”</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke backed down.</p><p> </p><p>“Hmph, now then,” Chie huffed, sliding her (empty) plate aside and giving Yu her full attention, “so, the killer didn’t plan on you being there. There’s not really any evidence against you, so, you’re off the hook, Yu-kun!</p><p> </p><p>“Off the… huh?” Yu blinked. Despite his confusion about the situation in general, his calm expression remained, giving him a distinct not-all-there look.</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke felt bad for him, now that he and Chie’s previous Midnight Channel-centered dilemma was so simply resolved. Yu, the silver-haired stranger, had not appeared on the Midnight Channel, despite the appearance of the previous two victims. However, he had calmly explained that the killer did not have any connection to him, and he was simply attacked because of bad timing…</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not important,” Chie dismissed Yu’s confusion over her figure of speech with a wave of her hand, leaning forward in order to enact her next comment,</p><p>“By the way, Yu-kun, you look really well put-together for someone who was almost killed a few days ago.”</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke tightened his grip on his blazer sleeves, ignoring Chie and Yu’s conversation.</p><p> </p><p>To be honest, Yosuke still suspected him. He <em> wanted </em>to suspect him, and since he had never seen this boy before, he had no real evidence that he was innocent besides his own testimony. Of course, that also meant there was no definitive evidence against him. Bummer.</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” Chie continued, “I mean, like, your hair and stuff. It’s all super neat, like you just got it cut! And not a single flaw in your skin, either. What’s your secret?”</p><p> </p><p>“Secret… um… I don’t… think I have one.”</p><p> </p><p>Still, why? Why did Saki have to die while a complete stranger got let off with nothing more than a bump on the head and a concerned warning from the actual <em> police force? </em></p><p> </p><p>“C’mon, that can’t be <em> all </em>natural. Hey,” Chie called out as she waved at Yosuke, “you think so too, right, Yosuke?”</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke grimaced, finding that his mouth had opened long before he had put any thought into his words,</p><p>“<em> Why are you here?!” </em> He stood and cried out, inadvertently kicking his chair off of its legs. </p><p> </p><p>“Yosuke!” Chie stood in a defensive manner, giving Yosuke a nasty glare, “what’s gotten into you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Who <em>are </em>you?” Yosuke snapped at Yu, ignoring Chie’s attempts to calm him down, “I mean, why does some bowl-cut loser like you get to stay here, while Senpai was-!!”</p><p> </p><p>“Geez,” Chie gave a heavy sigh, “calm down! You’re drawing attention to yourself.”</p><p> </p><p>His outburst was sudden, and he’d confused himself, his companions at the table with him, and a solid handful of customers trying to enjoy their afternoon at the Junes food court.</p><p> </p><p>Shit.</p><p> </p><p>A long, long, <em> long </em>moment of silence passed on the rooftop, filled only with the faint Junes jingle and customers returning to conversation between themselves. Yu’s eyes did not leave Yosuke, as he seemed to be searching for something he’d lost in the pseudo-brunette's expression. Chie sat back down and waved a few onlookers off, making some comment about everything being okay, and that they shouldn’t worry about it.</p><p> </p><p>“Look,” Yosuke sighed, turning his chair back right-side-up and re-taking his seat, “I’m sorry.”</p><p> </p><p>Chie sighed, pouting alongside Yosuke, “yeah, we haven’t made any progress at all in figuring out who the killer was… and we came al the way out here, too.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re upset,” Yu looked to Chie and Yosuke in turn, “I… can’t say I understand, but,” he paused. For drama. Also to contemplate something, in his head.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you… really want to get involved in looking for the killer?”</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke nodded without hesitation. Chie’s expression grew worried, but she agreed with Yosuke after a moment.</p><p> </p><p>Yu hummed, deciding that, if the two high schoolers <em> really </em>wanted to know the truth and bring the killer to light, then…</p><p> </p><p>“You need to know,” Yu gave the two a serious look, “if you really want to bring the truth to light… I’ll tell you everything.”</p><p> </p><p>“What are you talking about, Yu-kun?” Chie asked, leaning forward with slight interest.</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke’s eyes remained trained on him.</p><p> </p><p>“The whole truth…” Yu calmed himself and sighed. A rain cloud crowded out the sun above the trio, leaving the Junes rooftop shadowed over slightly, “you deserve to know the whole truth of what happened.”</p><p> </p><p>Chie and Yosuke exchanged a confused glance, then turned to give Yu their full attention.</p><p> </p><p>— — —</p><p> </p><p>“Hm?” Teddie sniffed the air, nose-up, “I can smell him! Sensei-i-i!”</p><p> </p><p>Before Kusumi had a chance to berate the bear, another voice interrupted,</p><p>“Teddie?” Yu’s voice echoed through the Backlot, seemingly sourced from the exits Teddie had set up at the edge of the room, “Is that you? Can you see me?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m afraid I can’t, Sensei…” Teddie pouted, his expression growing panicked as a thought crossed his mind somehow, “Wait! Sensei, you’re not a… a g-gh- a ghost, are you?!”</p><p> </p><p>Yu snickered, “No, Teddie, I’m not a ghost. I’m actually in Inaba right now.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yu!” Kusumi called out, stepping closer to Teddie, “are you coming back?”</p><p> </p><p>“Mhm,” Yu answered, “and, I’m with-”</p><p> </p><p>“Whoa!” An unfamiliar boy’s voice sounded, seemingly from the same place as Yu, “Dude, you're dedicated. That’s actually  pretty convincing!”</p><p> </p><p>Yu remained silent.</p><p> </p><p>“Eh, Yosuke,” a girl’s voice spoke up, there’s… nothing behind the TV…”</p><p> </p><p>“What? Come on,” the unfamiliar boy, Yosuke, replied, “there’s <em> no way </em>that whole thing about a ‘TV World’ is real. Right?”</p><p> </p><p>“It is beary real!!” Teddie yelled in response, “Sensei, who are your friends? They’re rude! They’re ruder than Kusumin!”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey!” Kusumi retorted, cut short by another confused comment from outside.</p><p> </p><p>“S-so, seriously, Yu-kun,” the girl spoke timidly, “how are you d-doing that..? and… the voices?”</p><p> </p><p>After a brief moment of silence, the girl spoke up again, “Hm? Your hand? …oh, you want me to take it. Okay… what’re you- waughhh!!”</p><p> </p><p>“Chie!” Yosuke called out, followed by a quick shout of his own as their voices disappeared from the exits, and, instead, echoing from above.</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, Kusumin,” Teddie looked as far up as he could, slightly restrained by the zipper attached to his neck, “are they..?”</p><p> </p><p>“They’re falling,” Kusumi confirmed, “yup.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sounds like it’s gonna hurt once they land.”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe,” Kusumi commented, “but not if they land on something soft. Maybe… something bear-shaped…”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm? Kusumin, what’s that supposed to- auughfwgfjfhgh-!!”</p><p> </p><p>A few <em> thuds </em> signaled Yu’s return, along with the two people he’d brought in from outside. Kusumi snickered, taking a moment to appreciate Teddie’s flattened state before she examined the strange human boy that had landed on top of him.</p><p> </p><p>“Ugh,” the boy groaned, “what the..? Chie? Where are you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Ow-ow-ow-ow,” the girl answered, rubbing a sore spot on her shoulder, “Yosuke! I’m here, just- um, where are <em> you </em>?”</p><p> </p><p>“<b> <em>Who</em> </b> <em> are you?!” </em> Teddie joined in, shuffling under Yosuke’s weight, “Get off of me! You’re messing up my fur!”</p><p> </p><p>“What the hell?!” Yosuke scrambled to stand up, steadily backing away from the flattened bear, unaware of Kusumi standing fairly close behind him, “what are y- whoa!”</p><p> </p><p>“Watch it,” Kusumi ordered, shooting Yosuke a glare as he backed into her shoulder and quickly turned around to meet her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Be careful,” Yu approached the group, followed closely by Chie, as he adjusted the glasses on his eyes, “if you get her mad, she’ll smite you.”</p><p> </p><p>“I-I-I’m sorry!!” Yosuke stammered out, taking a deep bow towards Kusumi, “please forgive me, I’ve already apologized enough for one day..! I don’t think my wallet can take any more…”</p><p> </p><p>Chie giggled, “It’s your own fault for breaking my Trial of the Dragon!”</p><p> </p><p>Yu departed, busying himself with helping Teddie fix up his fur.</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi turned to Yosuke and Chie, silently urging either to explain why they were there. Yosuke was the first to speak up, folding his arms as he grew flustered under Kusumi’s gaze,</p><p>“Um, scary lady, are we really <em> inside of the TV </em>?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, duh,” Kusumi answered bluntly, placing her hands on her hips, “Yu, didn’t you tell them?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded, giving Teddie a small pat on the head before coming to stand beside Kusumi,</p><p>“I did,” he answered, “they didn’t believe me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course not!!” Yosuke replied.</p><p> </p><p>“Still, though,” Chie added in, on her guard but much calmer than Yosuke had been, “hard to argue with something like this.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu sighed. Kusumi turned to him,</p><p>“So, why did you bring them here?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu locked eyes with Kusumi for a moment before casting his gaze downward, dull eyes settling on nothing in particular,</p><p>“They… wanted to find the truth. And, they knew her…” he returned his gaze to Kusumi, “Saki Konishi. I thought they should at least know what happened to her…”</p><p> </p><p>“Saki-chan!” Teddie bounded toward the group, his plastic eyes somehow wider than normal, “You knew the Saki-chan we met? Oh…” his tone grew solemn, “I’m sorry…”</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke looked down dejectedly. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s… okay,” Chie answered after a moment, casting a glance or two towards Yosuke, “but, anyways, Yu-kun! I guess you were telling the truth, back there.”</p><p> </p><p>“I mean, this is pretty convincing,” Yosuke agreed, gesturing towards his surroundings, “-but… what now?”</p><p> </p><p>“You said that we should know the whole truth,” Chie turned to look at Yu, “is this all there s to it?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu shifted his stance, placing his hands into his pockets, “I told you earlier, about the fog… and, the Shadows.”</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke nodded, “They both have to do with ‘mankind’s will’ or something, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes… but,” Yu continued, “you both… aren’t the same. You’re not afraid, like the rest of the town. It’s difficult, to explain…” he paused.</p><p> </p><p>“I think I get it,” Yosuke added, relaxing his weight onto one foot, “we have kind of the same goal, right?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“And,” Chie added, taking a faux-attacking stance, “we can totally kick ass!”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh?” Kusumi locked eyes with the feisty girl, “Let’s see you take on a few Shadows, then!”</p><p> </p><p>“Bring em on!!” Chie giggled, taking a few hops in-place before settling back on two feet.</p><p> </p><p>“I like this one,” Kusumi commented, turning to Yu, “she’s awesome. We should keep her.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hehe, you flatter me, madame,” Chie replied with a snicker.</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi, after a moment of hesitation, nervously struck up a conversation, something about fighting or Kung-fu moves or whatever. Yosuke sighed, taking a look around.</p><p> </p><p>“Man,” he commented, half to himself, “this fog really is something else. It reminds me of the stuff we’ve been getting in Inaba.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu gave him a questioning look. Yosuke continued, looking off to the side thoughtfully, “That’s when the bodies showed up, you know,” he turned solemnly towards Yu, “a thick fog set in, and when it cleared, that’s when… they were found. Oh, same with you, I guess.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm?” Yu recalled a short memory, back when he was hung upside-down over the foggy Shopping District.</p><p> </p><p><em> I must have been next to Saki, back then </em>, he thought, but quickly shoved the idea aside.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” Yosuke stepped aside, arms crossed across his chest, inviting Yu to join him a little ways off from the girls, “those… Shadow things that you told us about, they get violent when the fog lifts, right? </p><p> </p><p>“Does that fog, like, somehow cross over into Inaba?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu gave Yosuke his full attention, silently urging him to go on.</p><p> </p><p>“I mean,” Yosuke continued, “if the bodies were put there after the fog lifted here and their Shadows attacked, it’d make sense, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re saying the fog lifts here,” Yu responded, intrigued, “because it’s leaking into your world?”</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke nodded, “that’s what I think.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, hey!” Teddie joined in, his bear feet (paws?) squeaking with every step he took toward Yu and Yosuke, “that’s beary smart of you, Yosuke! I never would’ve thought that the fog went anywhere.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” Chie called out, making her way towards the boys along with Kusumi, “what are you guys talking about?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, nothing, really,” Yosuke turned, his gaze fixed on something behind Chie, “hm? What’s that over there?”</p><p> </p><p>Chie turned around, squinting as if it’d help her see through the fog. It did not, however, there was a dull red light at the end of a metal walkway that was *just* visible enough to catch Chie and Yosuke’s attention.</p><p> </p><p>Yu, Teddie, and Kusumi exchanged glances. </p><p> </p><p>“That’s…” Teddie began, “where we found Ms. Yamano. You probably don’t wanna go in there…”</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke shifted his footing, turning towards the red glow, “No, let’s… let’s go in.”</p><p> </p><p>“What?” Chie exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at her friend, “Bu-but, what if it’s creepy in there?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yosuke!” Teddie joined in, “How morbid! I can’t believe you’d want to see something like that!”</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke turned towards Yu, “You said we needed to know the whole truth,” he blinked, “what do you think?”</p><p> </p><p>Teddie, Kusumi, and Chie all silently turned to face Yu. Unsure of how to respond to the group, Yu kept his eyes on Yosuke and nodded a ‘yes’.</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke’s expression relaxed, and he gave Yu a grateful look. Chie tapped her foot repeatedly on the ground.</p><p> </p><p>Teddie stepped closer to Yosuke and Chie, fiddling with something he held in his paw,</p><p>“Well, if I can’t stop you,” he held up two objects toward the visitors- two pairs of glasses, one rectangular and orange, one oblong and yellow, “you’d better put these on.”</p><p> </p><p>“Glasses?” Yosuke and Chie took the orange and yellow pairs respectively, sliding them on in near unison.</p><p> </p><p>“Whoa!” Chie marveled at the fog-less world around her, turning in every direction in order to grasp the full picture.</p><p> </p><p>“Is this… a studio?” Yosuke asked, observing the steel beams and blinding lights far above their heads.</p><p> </p><p>“Studio?” Teddie asked, “Um, I dunno what that is.”</p><p> </p><p>“Dude,” Yosuke disregarded the bear’s confusion and turned to Chie, “what if the Midnight Channel really <em> is </em>filmed here?”</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi questioned, “Midnight Channel?”</p><p> </p><p>Yu joined in, “Filmed?”</p><p> </p><p>“Eh… right,” Chie gave a nervous chuckle, “well, we can explain later. I want to go ahead and get going, though.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Yosuke replied, fiddling with the rims of his glasses, “looks like that place is further than we thought.”</p><p> </p><p>Chie gave a nod in agreement.</p><p> </p><p>“O-kay,” Teddie proudly placed one paw on his chest while he gestured to his fellow TV World residents with the other, “then, Kusumin and I will lead the way. You two stay close to Sensei!”</p><p> </p><p>“Huh? Why him?” Yosuke asked, following Teddie with his eyes as the bear inched away.</p><p> </p><p>Teddie turned with a squeak from his foot, “Because, he’s the only one of us who can fight! If the fog lifts while we’re here, Sensei will be our only hope.”</p><p> </p><p>“We don’t want more people from your world getting hurt,” Kusumi added bluntly as she walked past the group, sticking close to Teddie’s side.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait, you’re fighting on your own?” Yosuke replied, eyeing Yu, “That’s rough, dude. If I could help you, I would.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu shook his head, his eyes dull while he bore a slight smile, “It’s alright.”</p><p> </p><p>Teddie and Kusumi turned, the bear’s eyes closed and nose up while Kusumi led him forward, silently setting out on the path towards the site of Mayumi Yamano’s demise. Yu followed, beckoning Yosuke and Chie to accompany him with a wave of his hand. The two highschoolers looked to each other, following behind Yu after a moment.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” Chie spoke up, forcefully disregarding her unease about the seemingly without-support metal walkway along the group’s route, “so, if Yu-kun can fight, what can you guys do?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm?” Kusumi hummed, turning her head for a split-second before returning her eyes in front of her, “what do you mean?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” the girl began, absentmindedly picking at her nails in her jacket pockets, “I just mean, like, is there anything you guys do?”</p><p> </p><p>Teddie opened his eyes up, turning to look at the questioning girl as the group continued forward,</p><p>“I can read Shadows!” He stated with pride, “I can see their weaknesses, and abilities! So, when Sensei asks, I- whoa-a!”</p><p> </p><p>He tripped. The sound Teddie made when he landed was oddly cartoonish, like a squeaky toy getting stepped on.</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi sighed, crouching down to set the bear upright before returning to the path ahead. Teddie eyed her strangely.</p><p> </p><p>“Kusumin,” the bear tugged on Kusumi’s sleeve, concerned, “you’re supposed to laugh at me when that happens!”</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi kept her eyes trained on the cold floor.</p><p> </p><p>“I guess,” she began unsurely, folding her arms tight despite the thick sleeves of her robe, “I dunno. I can’t do much,” she answered Chie.</p><p> </p><p>“Whaaat? Sure you can, Kusumin!” Teddie replied, his shocked yell echoing throughout the empty space, far from the Backlot, “You’re part of a goddess, after all!”</p><p> </p><p>“<em> Excuse me?!” </em> Chie replied in awe.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re a goddess, Kusumi-san?” Yosuke asked, eyes wide, unsure if he heard the bear right or not.</p><p> </p><p>“Mhm!” Teddie answered, “Kusumin here came straight from Izanami hersel- umph-!!!”</p><p> </p><p>“Shove it, bear!” Kusumi placed a tense hand, almost in warning, on top of Teddie’s head as she grit her teeth, “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”</p><p> </p><p>“Wa-a-augh! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Teddie apologized, sobbing despite being unable to produce tears. Kusumi sighed, deeply, taking her hand off of the shivering bear.</p><p> </p><p>“Go sniff out the rest of the way to Yamano’s room,” Kusumi ordered, taking a deep breath as the bear left without another word, nose as high up in the air as it could be.</p><p> </p><p>Yu left to follow him without a glance towards the rest of the group. Kusumi turned towards Yosuke and Chie, who remained silent, and began her way forward again.</p><p> </p><p>“...”</p><p> </p><p>“Is everything alright..?” Chie called out, unsure, catching up and falling in step beside Kusumi. Yosuke followed behind the girls, running his fingers along his headphone cord.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not a goddess,” Kusumi pouted, her gaze fixed on the floor ahead of her.</p><p> </p><p>Chie shot a glance toward Yosuke, though both cautiously kept their mouths shut. Kusumi continued after a moment,</p><p>“I used to be a part of her. Izanami, I mean,” she bit the inside of her cheek, “She cast me off. Got rid of me. Gave me some dumb job like ‘absorbing the fog’... tch.”</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke questioned, “You can get rid of the fog, Kusumi-san?”</p><p> </p><p>The ex-goddess shook her head, “no. Or, yes. I don’t know… I’m supposed to, one day, but, I’m not sure when,” her tone began to lighten as her information became easier to communicate, “at this point, I’m just glorified moral support. Some kind of light at the end of the tunnel, or something.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, come on,” Chie briefly set a hand on Kusumi’s shoulder, “sounds like more free time to me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Free time?” Kusumi blinked, turning her head to return Chie’s gaze, “I guess..? Whatever… there’s not anything to do here, though.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Chie agreed, scratching the back of her neck, “guess it’s pretty deserted here.”</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi mumbled something inaudible in response.</p><p> </p><p>“Um, Kusumi-san?” Yosuke spoke up from behind, “I mean, if we’re working together right now and all, so… if you want, you could come visit Inaba. We’d be happy to show you around,” he added with a wink.</p><p> </p><p>Kusumi looked toward Yosuke for a few seconds before turning back, her expression contemplative.</p><p> </p><p>“Ooh, good idea,” Chie complimented her friend, turning to Kusumi as she emphasized his proposal, “plus, Inaba’s totally known for its grilled steak. You gotta try it!!”</p><p> </p><p>Yosuke sighed.</p><p> </p><p>“Gril… um,” Kusumi struggled, “grillled flake?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s ‘steak’! You’ve never had a grilled steak?” Chie nearly gasped, her eyes wide at the thought of a steakless world, “How on earth are you alive?!”</p><p> </p><p>“Heh, it’s really nothing special,” Yosuke joined in, giving Chie a small side nudge, “you’re not missing anything.”</p><p> </p><p>“N-no, um,” Kusumi looked up, locking eyes with Chie and Yosuke in turn, a slight smile on her face, “I’d like that.”</p><p> </p><p>— — —</p><p> </p><p>A series of sniffles told Yu that he was on the right track, proving him right as a blue ball of fur came into view, shadowed heavily by the blinding red light protruding from a doorway.</p><p> </p><p>Yu gave Teddie a light tap on the head, crouching down to meet him eye-to-eye. The bear brought his head up, slowly, eyes sad as he wiped his nose with a paw.</p><p> </p><p>“Sensei,” Teddie sniffled, “I wasn’t crying.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu gave the bear a soft smile, “did you get scared?”</p><p> </p><p>Teddie nodded sadly, “Uh-huh,” he wiped at his eyes, almost disappointed when he had no tears to dry, “I didn’t know… if she didn’t want me to say it, she could have just said so..!” </p><p> </p><p>Yu ran a hand along Teddie’s head in a calming manner, “She’s not mad at you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Kusumin’s always mad at me,” Teddie’s ears dropped as he sighed, “I don’t think she likes me beary much…”</p><p> </p><p>“She doesn’t understand yet,” Yu shook his head, “and, she’s had a lot on her mind, too.”</p><p> </p><p>“Kusumin… has a lot on her mind?” Teddie repeated.</p><p> </p><p>“Mhm,” Yu explained softly, “about the murders, and about herself.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why’s she so worried about herself..?”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm…” Yu hummed, looking up for a moment in thought before returning his gaze to the curious bear, “no, you should be the one to ask her.”</p><p> </p><p>“B-bu-but-!!”</p><p> </p><p>“In private,” Yu clarified, “she gets embarrassed. Ask her when you’re by yourselves.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hm…” Teddie hummed.</p><p> </p><p>“Will you try?”</p><p> </p><p>Teddie wiped his nose one last time and nodded,</p><p>“Okay,” he sniffled, “I’ll… try it…”</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded, satisfied with Teddie’s answer, giving the bear one pat on the head before standing. Teddie followed, wobbling a bit on his disproportionate legs before steadying. Yu watched to make sure he could stand before turning, eyeing the entrance to Mayumi Yamano’s room.</p><p> </p><p>“Are we going in, Sensei..?” Teddie eyed the entrance suspiciously, carefully hiding behind Yu.</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded, “Do you sense anything in there, Teddie?”</p><p> </p><p>“Umm…” Teddie gave the air a quick sniff, “nope. All clear.”</p><p> </p><p>Having the OK from Teddie, Yu stepped forward, phasing through the red and black striped mess of a doorway effortlessly. Teddie followed, stumbling once or twice over a few broken floorboards.</p><p> </p><p>The hallway leading to Yamano’s room hadn’t changed since the first- the only- time they had visited. Or, at least, Yu hadn’t noticed anything different, though he tried not to think about that room too much.</p><p> </p><p>The wooden floor creaked with every step- it didn't matter how carefully you placed your foot or how precisely you chose where you stepped. One small window hung at the end of the hall, bathing the path in a sickly red glow despite its size.</p><p> </p><p>Yu knew he was going the right way. There was only one way to go, but it felt right for him to be here.</p><p> </p><p><em> Hope </em> , the word repeated in Yu’s mind, <em> hope, hope, hope. </em></p><p> </p><p>He felt another presence in his own place, like someone else was watching the world through his eyes. Whoever it was, they’d already seen this place before, Yu thought.</p><p> </p><p>Izanagi went on alert.</p><p> </p><p>Untouched spots on the wall and floor left the impression that something used to be hung here, or placed there, before. All that remained in the path was dust, highlighted by the eerie light as it drifted in and out of cracks in the floor, and a wall of locked, identical doors with number plates hung on their left sides.</p><p> </p><p>The right side read, 110. 112. 114. 116. 120. The numbers alternated properly only when paired with their counterparts on the opposite walls. Nothing special, that’s pretty common in hotels, or inns.</p><p> </p><p>Mayumi Yamano’s room stood on the very end of the hall, stripped of its door, solemnly facing nothing but a blank wall. The room number read “144.”</p><p> </p><p><em> 144 is right, </em>Yu thought, though he wasn’t sure why.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s a pretty unlucky room assignment,” Teddie commented. Yu thought it was ironic.</p><p> </p><p>Practically drawn through the threshold into Yamano’s room, Yu found that Izanagi’s presence had depleted, reduced from his usual, buzzing hum in the back of Yu’s mind to an eerie silence. Like when an air conditioner you didn’t even know was on is turned off, and the room feels much too silent…</p><p> </p><p>“Mmm… I really still don’t like this place…” Teddie complained, pacing around in small steps.</p><p> </p><p>The curtains covering a wall-length window stood still. The rope, along with the red cloth attached to it, hung above a flimsy chair and stood still. The posters hung haphazardly on the wall stood still, though the yellow and red paint- Yu <em> hoped </em>it was paint- that had been slung on the walls for weeks still continued to seep through the cheap paper material. Yu unknowingly held his breath.</p><p> </p><p>The Hope Arcana, Yu’s bond with Namatame, burned at the edges of his mind. Still, frigid air seemed to be permeating through the walls of the room, though, from where, Yu wasn’t sure.</p><p> </p><p>Teddie seemed unaffected, at least, having abandoned his fearful pacing in favor of waiting in the doorway for someone to show up. He wrung his paws together.</p><p> </p><p>Yu thought he heard someone. Or, something. Or everything.</p><p> </p><p>The room grew smaller, the red light so intensely blinding that Yu ended up stumbling backwards. Everything spun, everything twisted and warped, and the Hope Arcana called out to him. Back to the wall, Yu shut his eyes tight. It didn’t help, and the wall was cold.</p><p> </p><p>He tried to call out for Teddie. He wasn’t sure if he managed to or not.</p><p> </p><p><em> Listen, </em>The Hope called with a despairing voice and shared with Yu a messy disarray of scenes; a handshake, the blurry image of a woman- Mayumi Yamano, Yu corrected himself- the sound of police sirens and an intense pressure pounding in his head while crumpled up papers and empty cans were crushed by the weight of a man desperately checking to check wether the death being reported on the TV screen was real.</p><p> </p><p>It was very real.</p><p> </p><p>Blue tarps laid carefully on the ground, trampled over carelessly. A woman hung over an antennae, her arms outstretched, grasping, reaching for… anything. The Hope resonated, longing to cry out, to reach out and take those hands and tell the woman that he was <em> sorry. </em></p><p> </p><p>The screen was turned off. The small, littered room fell despairingly lifeless.</p><p> </p><p>The Hope cried, it sobbed, it shook with rage and fear and loneliness and desperation and it knew that <em> it made a terrible mistake </em> but it was too late. Yu knew, he trembled and he told himself that these emotions <em> weren’t his </em>but they still remained, unable to stop much like a ball of snow rolling down a long, steep hill, growing and collecting more and more of itself with no sign of stopping.</p><p> </p><p>Izanagi cried out, signaling Yu’s own fear and frustration in being unable to snap out of it and get out of his own head, to simply take in the information given to him and move on. </p><p> </p><p><em> You must understand, </em> a soundless voice spoke authoritatively towards Yu, silencing the clamor of The Hope, <em> in order to reach “the truth” you seek, you </em> <b> <em>have to </em> </b> <em> understand the importance humans place in these things called “bonds,” why they react so strongly when they lose them. </em></p><p> </p><p>An Arcana… Yu felt that one of his Arcana were speaking to him, but it’s presence was cleverly shrouded.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> But, you don’t understand, do you? You cannot. That, in itself, is a truth. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>It’s silent words rang echoed as his consciousness began to slip, his mind being pulled somewhere his body was unable to go.</p><p> </p><p><em> Hm… Proceed if you must, </em>it concluded, voice fading.</p><p> </p><p>Yu thought he could hear a car’s tires, gently rolling along as his eyes closed.</p><p> </p><p>— — — </p><p> </p><p>“Welcome, to the Velvet Room.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu raised his head and opened his eyes, the sourceless, dim glow of purple bathing the room- car?- in elegant light. Glowing beverages in glass bottles bubbled calmly under a countertop to his left.</p><p> </p><p>An old man with a long nose and bulging eyes sat directly across from Yu, welcoming him. A silent woman sat to the man’s left, diligently flipping through a thick book.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sure you have many questions,” the man continued, unblinking, “however, first, allow me to introduce myself.</p><p> </p><p>My name is Igor… I am delighted to make your acquaintance.”</p><p> </p><p>Igor turned and gestured toward the woman at his side,</p><p>“This here is Margaret. She is a resident of this place, like myself.”</p><p> </p><p>Margaret met Yu’s eyes, her gaze calm and steady,</p><p>“My name is Margaret,” she repeated, “I am here to accompany you on your journey.”</p><p> </p><p><em> Journey..? </em> Yu wondered.</p><p> </p><p>Igor locked eyes with Yu, “Now, then, it seems you are eager to learn why you’ve been summoned here.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu nodded.</p><p> </p><p>Igor’s unchanging smile remained as he continued on, “Of course. Allow me to explain…</p><p> </p><p>“This is a place between mind and matter, dream and reality. A room accessible only by those bound by a ‘contract’... it may be that such a fate awaits you in the near future,” Igor paused.</p><p> </p><p>“Yours is… a special case,” he explained carefully, “having been born with your power, there was no need for you to awaken to it. Thus, we here never received a call to action. However…” he trailed off, inviting Margaret to explain further.</p><p> </p><p>The yellow-eyed woman shut her book with care before turning to look at Yu,</p><p>“You have already discovered the power of ‘bonds’,” she traced over the design on the cover of her book with her pointer finger, “and, these bonds will be your strength. Although, you seem to have run into some difficulties already…”</p><p> </p><p>“This is the reason we have called you here today,” Igor added, “you see, you possess <em> irregular </em> bonds.”</p><p> </p><p>Margaret nodded towards Igor, turning back to Yu afterward,</p><p>“I am a little concerned about the reaction that the Hope Arcana had today,” her expression remained calm, “you see, your Arcana are meant to represent bonds, and give strength to your Personas. They are most certainly not supposed to hold such a deep connection to an individual that it ends up affecting their carrier…</p><p> </p><p>“Not to mention, the World…” Margaret glanced toward Igor, and stopped herself, “well, I suppose I could explain that one at a later date.”</p><p> </p><p>Yu’s body began to feel heavy.</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” Igor shifted, re-clasping his long hands under his chin, “it is almost time for you to return to your world.</p><p> </p><p>“In the coming days,” the old man explained, almost in routine, “you will, somehow or another, enter into a contract, after which you will return here.</p><p> </p><p>“The coming year is a turning point in your destiny. If the mystery goes unsolved, all may forever be lost.</p><p> </p><p>“My duty is to provide assistance to our guests, to ensure that does not happen.”</p><p> </p><p>Margaret flipped her book back open, pages perfectly split down the middle.</p><p> </p><p>Igor bid goodbye with a wave of his hand as Yu’s vision began to fade,</p><p>“We shall attend to further details another time. Until then, farewell…”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>“Wtf is going on”<br/>-me, author of fic</p><p>If it isn’t obvious, I write every chapter on a whim! Whatever comes to mind first gets put in!! This chapter ended up being really weird but I don’t mind, personally</p><p>I hope you enjoyed!! Oc, if you didn’t, that’s cool too. As always, please let me know if there are any spelling/grammar errors, or if anything doesn’t make sense &gt;_&gt;</p><p>Thank you for sticking around this long!! I’ll get my act together soon I promise ;)</p><p>That’s a lie, actually</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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